Sreeja Akula
 Akula in 2022 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Born | 31 July 1998 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Table tennis |
| Playing style | Right-handed, shakehand grip |
| Highest ranking | 22 (06 August 2024)[1] |
| Current ranking | 57 (15 July 2025)[2] |
Medal record | |
.svg){kind=link}
.svg){kind=link}
Sreeja Akula (born 31 July 1998) is an Indian table tennis player. She is a two-time Indian national champion. She is currently ranked India number one in women's singles.[4] Akula received the Arjuna Award in 2022.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Akula won the gold medal in the mixed doubles event with Sharath Kamal. In June 2024, she became the first Indian to win a singles title at the WTT Contender level by clinching the top spot at WTT Contender Lagos.
She also became the second ever Indian paddler to reach the Pre-Quarterfinals in the Olympics at the Paris Olympics 2024.[5]
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Sreeja hails from Hyderabad. Both her father Praveen Kumar, a manager in a private insurance company, and elder sister Ravali are table tennis players.[6] Ravali played at the university level. Sreeja trained under coach Somnath Ghosh,[7] at his academy at Kukatpally, Hyderabad. Before that she learnt the basics at St Paul's Academy in Basheer Bagh when she was nine years and continued the game at YMCA in Narayanguda,[6] She passed her intermediate (plus two) with 98.7 percent and then graduated in commerce. Telangana State Table Tennis Association (TSTTA) Secretary Nagendra Reddy was one of her first coaches.[6]
Career
[edit | edit source]Akula was the gold medalist in Women's Doubles and Women's Team events in Table tennis at the 2019 South Asian Games.[8]
Akula won the women's singles and doubles table tennis titles at the 83rd Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships held in April 2022.[9] She was the runner-up in national Women's singles in the previous edition, losing to Manika Batra. She was also a part of the Indian team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she won gold medal in mixed doubles event with Sharath Kamal.[6][10]
In January 2024, Sreeja won her maiden WTT singles career title at the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi in Texas.[10] This was followed by her second singles career title at the WTT Feeder Beirut II in March 2024 where she beat Luxembourg's Sarah De Nutte 3-1 (6–11, 12–10, 11–5, 11–9) in the final.[11] Sreeja defeated WR2 Chinese paddler Wang Yidi in a group match at 2024 World Team Championships, although her team narrowly lost the tie as 2–3. At the WTT Contender Lagos in June 2024, Akula became the first Indian to win a title at the Contender level. She achieved this feat by beating China's Ding Yijie with a 4–1 score in the ultimate clash. At the same event, she also won the women's doubles title alongside Archana Kamath.[12]
Singles Titles
[edit | edit source]| Year | Tournament | Final opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | WTT
Contender Lagos |
China Ding Yijie | 4–1 |
| 2024 | WTT Feeder Corpus Christi | Error creating thumbnail: Lily Zhang | 3–0 |
| 2024 | WTT Feeder Beirut II | Luxembourg Sarah De Nutte | 3–1 |
Awards
[edit | edit source]Akula received the Arjuna Award in 2022.[6][13][14]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:External_links at line 369: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Indian female table tennis players
- Sportspeople from Hyderabad, India
- Sportswomen from Telangana
- Table tennis players at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Olympic table tennis players for India
- Table tennis players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists in table tennis
- Table tennis players at the 2022 Asian Games
- Asian Games table tennis players for India
- South Asian Games gold medalists for India
- South Asian Games medalists in table tennis
- Recipients of the Arjuna Award
- Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- 21st-century Indian sportswomen