The list of ITTF World Tour winners is dominated by a vast display of red, with five stars. It underscores supremacy in table tennis. The tricolour, with the Ashok Chakra, is visible four times – accompanied by four names.
Achanta Sharath Kamal. Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. Soumyajit Ghosh. Anthony Amalraj. No female paddler.
The World Tour’s successor – WTT Contender Series – also exhibits a similar theme. With one stark difference.
On this occasion, the tricolour is accompanied by the name of a female paddler – Sreeja Akula. A month ago, Sreeja scripted history in Lagos, by becoming the first Indian to win a WTT Contender singles title. In the final, she defeated China’s Ding Yijie.
On being asked about whether there have been any changes since that triumph, Sreeja, who will be representing the nation at the 2024 Paris Olympics, tells The Quint:
I would say that it gives me more responsibility to do well at the Olympics, as there will be expectations from me. More than anything, it was a great confidence booster ahead of the Olympics. I defeated fellow Indians in the quarter-final and semi-final, and then beat a Chinese player in the final, so it gave me a lot of confidence.Sreeja Akula
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Neither Intimidated, Nor Complacent
For a fleeting moment, let’s come out of the phantasmagoria. To generalise every Chinese opponent into the same bracket will be callous. Whilst Sreeja’s opponent in Lagos might not rank among the elite, China’s Olympic contingent will feature Sun Yingsha – world number 1, and Chen Meng – world number 4.
Will Sreeja Akula be intimidated?
Never. She is wise enough to admit the Indians will be underdogs, but determined enough to not go down without a fight.
It is definitely true that the Chinese are the favourites to win medals. We will have to compete against two world-class Chinese players (Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng) in women’s singles. But at the same time, it is also true that India has made rapid progress in TT since the 2018 Commonwealth Games. There are five Indians in the Top 100 of women’s singles rankings, which speaks a lot about our growth.Sreeja Akula
Emulating Michael Corleone from The Godfather 2, Sreeja has been keeping tabs on her opponents. She says:
We have defeated the Chinese players recently. Myself, Ayhika di and Manika di have defeated players who are from the top 3 in China. But they will be more prepared at the Olympics. I recently saw a video where they were training with pimple rubbers. So, we will have to come up with new plans and strategies. It is also my first Olympics so I don’t know how exactly I will feel when I step out into the arena, but I am mentally prepared to take on anyone, irrespective of who my opponent is.Sreeja Akula
Ranking Is Just a Number
Sreeja Akula is acutely aware of the weight of national expectations on her shoulders. Not only because she won a WTT Contender event, but also because she is India’s number one on the rankings, and 25th in the world.
The 25-year-old from Hyderabad, however, wants the narrative to be built around the collective, not the individual.
My goal was always to improve my world ranking, not just to be the first-ranked player among Indians. The first target was to get into the top 50, then top 30. Now, the target is top 20. More than me being number 1 among Indians, five Indians being a part of the top 100 makes me happy.Sreeja Akula
Despite what the rankings state, Sreeja still seeks advice from the erstwhile India number 1, and her idol, Manika Batra.
I don’t feel any pressure of being the number 1. Irrespective of the rankings, Manika di will always be our idol, and I will always look up to her, even during the Olympics. We have a great bonding in our team, so it is not that the number 1 will be under any additional pressure.Sreeja Akula
3 Secrets of Improvement
Table tennis is woven into the fabric of the Akula family, with Sreeja’s father, Praveen Kumar, and elder sister, Ravali, both being former players. She had made ripples with two gold medals at the South Asian Games in 2019, aged only 21, but the subsequent years did not see the ripples transforming into waves.
It wasn't until 2022 that she reached the zenith of her capabilities, starting with a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, alongside the legendary Achanta Sharath Kamal.
Now that Sharath was India’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, being the first TT player to be bestowed with this honour, Sreeja cannot contain her emotions.
We had never thought that a TT player would be India’s flag bearer at the Olympics. I am so proud of Sharath anna. TT players are getting very good recognition now. Leagues like Ultimate Table Tennis have helped us get in the limelight. Personally, I am very happy to be a TT player in this era.Sreeja Akula
Sreeja attributes her remarkable improvement to a trifecta of factors: mental, physical, and technical development.
The improvement was not because of any one particular factor, there are various factors. I have worked on my mental, physical and technical strength. For the last three years, I have been working with a mental conditioner – Mrs Gayathri. She has been teaching me a lot of breathing techniques, meditation practices and other things to increase my mental strength. Technically, I have been working very hard with my coach Somnath Ghosh, who has been my mentor for 15 years. I can’t even think of playing under any other coach. He will be my coach for as long as I play. I have a great understanding with Ghosh sir, and just his presence by my side gives me great confidence. We worked a lot on my forehand attack, which is why my spin and variation have improved. Physically, I am doing a lot of strength and conditioning training. The overall development was down to these three reasons.Sreeja Akula
On the Partnership With Archana Kamath
Not only did Sreeja win the singles title in Lagos, but also the women’s doubles title, with her new partner Archana Kamath. Despite not having played together for six years, the pair defeated the formidable Mukherjee² – Ayhika and Sutirtha – who had won bronze medals at the Asian Games.
On being asked about her nascent partnership with the 24-year-old from Bengaluru, Sreeja says:
I have actually been playing doubles with Diya Chitale, but in Lagos, the team decided to pair me with Archana Kamath. This was done keeping the Olympics in mind. The first match of the team event will be doubles, so we need to take a call on which two players will play between me, Archana and Manika di. I have previously played doubles with Archana in juniors, but that was about 6 years ago. We teamed up in Lagos and immediately formed a bond. We could understand each other. The tournament went really well.Sreeja Akula
Plan Is To Cause Upsets
Albeit there are no freebies at the Olympics, Sreeja has been served an extremely challenging pathway in singles. Her possible round of 16 opponent, should she reach that stage, is Sun Yingsha – the world number 1, who won a gold and a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sreeja remains unperturbed. She says:
It is my first Olympics, so I just want to go all out. Give my best and implement everything that I have practiced. I know there will be a lot of pressure, but I want to stay strong and cause the maximum number of upsets.Sreeja Akula
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For Indian TT, the Only Way Is Up
India's rapid ascent in table tennis since the latter half of the last decade is evident, with five players in the top 100 and an additional three female paddlers in the top 160.
Sreeja shares her thoughts on this burgeoning talent pool:
The new crop of Indian TT players is very good. We are getting assistance from TOPS, SAI and TTFI. We are going abroad to play tournaments, getting great exposure. There is also very healthy competition. As you might have noticed, we have junior players beating the senior players now in the national competitions. I think that is a very positive sign. We are now talking about being happy with five Indians in the top 100, but the count will only go up.Sreeja Akula
She concludes by acknowledging the support she has received in her career:
I have been associated with Dream Sports Foundation (DSF) for three years now. The major help from them is facilitating my participation in more and more overseas competitions. Initially, it was a big struggle. Besides that, they have also helped me with dieticians and equipment. Recently, I got a robot machine which helps me practice when I can’t find a sparring partner. They also help my coach by reimbursing his travel expenses.Sreeja Akula
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