New Delhi: Sreeja Akula is a promising youngster in the Indian table tennis circuit. She will be making her debut at the prestigious Olympics event in Paris after she was named in the three-member Women’s contingent along with Manika Batra and Archana Kamath for the 33rd edition of the Summer Games. Sreeja will participate in women’s singles and women’s team event.
Born in Hyderabad on July 31, 1998, Sreeja Akula was blessed with academic nous as she secured 9.5 CGPA in her 10th grade. followed by 96% in 12th grade. Before she could fall into the notion of a South Indian brilliant academic kid following the path of doctor or engineering, Sreeja’s parents Praveen Kumar Akula and Sai Sudha backed her talent with the racket.
Sreeja saw her elder sister Ravali play table tennis during the latter’s college days. Her father Praveen played the sport in his childhood but couldn’t pursue it professionally. Although her sister didn’t took her game to a distance, Sreeja took inspiration from her and carved a path to become India’s top paddler.
She won junior girls’ singles titles when she was just selected to play for the sub-junior category. She joined former Indian player Somnath Ghosh at his academy in Hyderabad.
The updward trajectory of Sreeja Akula’s career
Sreeja Akula shot to prominence with her maiden national title in women’s singles, defeating the stylish Manika Batra and veteran player Mouma Das in 2022.
The same year she paired with Sharath Kamal, the poster boy of Indian table tennis, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The pair won gold medal in mixed doubles, making Sreeja’s first big achievement at the international stage. She was conferred with Arjuna Award by the Sports Ministry.
Sreeja peaked through massive form in 2024 to gain giant leap in her rankings. Starting the year at 94, she jumped to her career-best ranking of 24 to not just book her spot at the Paris Olympics but also topple Manika Batra as India’s top-ranked women’s paddler in ITTF rankings.
Sreeja won her first international singles title (WTT Feeder) at Chorpus Christi to start the year on a marvelous note. She later stunned China’s World No.2 Wang Yidi during the World Teams’ Table Tennis Championships in South Korea. The 25-year-old became the first Indian to win a WTT Contender title after rallying past Ding Yijie 4-1 in the final in Lagos.
The reinvention of self belief and the fearlessness approach to compete against anyone, anywhere and at anytime has propelled Sreeja’s rise to her first Olympics event. She likes to make upsets, which has been somewhere a mantra to her success mode.
Sreeja Akula is a promising youngster in the Indian table tennis circuit. She will be making her debut at the prestigious Olympics event in Paris after she was named in the three-member Women’s contingent along with Manika Batra and Archana Kamath for the 33rd edition of the Summer Games. Sreeja will participate in women’s singles and women’s team event. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
