Telangana paddler Akula Sreeja bags 3 gold, again national champ

HYDERABAD: At first look, Akula Sreeja would pass for a regular teenager. But give her a table tennis racquet and the 24-year-old is hard to stop, as her rivals found out in the 84th Senior National Table Tennis Championship at the Gymnasium Hall, University of Jammu.
The Telangana paddler came up with a sensational performance on Monday to win the women's singles title for the second successive year and four medals in all, including three gold.
Capping a fine day for Telangana, their men's doubles team of Mohammed Ali and Vansh Singhal clinched silver as they lost to Jee Chandra and Ankur Bhattacharjee of West Bengal 6-11, 7-11, 6-11 in the final.
Apart from the gold in women's singles, Sreeja, who represents Reserve Bank of India (RBI), also won the women's doubles gold, team gold and a bronze in mixed doubles. "I am delighted with my performance in this tournament," Sreeja told TOI from Jammu. "To be honest, I did not expect this performance."
Sreeja exacted revenge on Sutirtha Mukherjee - to whom she had lost in the National Games final - by defeating the West Bengal paddler 9-11, 14-12, 11-7, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10 to win her second successive title. Her doubles victory was more special as she found a new partner in Diya Chitale. They defeated Swastika Ghosh and Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 14-12. Sreeja helped RBI win the team gold and and bagged the mixed doubles bronze along with Manush Shah. "I had lost a few matches in the last few months. Even in the team event here, I was defeated twice. But that experience helped me to get used to the conditions in Jammu and I managed to win all the singles matches," Sreeja said.
Last year, Sreeja had ended a 58-year-old medal drought by becoming the first paddler to win a National title from Telugu states since Mir Khasim Ali in 1964. She made the year more memorable by winning the Commonwealth Games mixed gold along with the legendary Achanta Sharath Kamal. Sreeja reckoned that her game has improved in the last few months. "I am more confident now. I have a better forehand and have developed deception. Now I want to work hard to get the best possible results," Sreeja said.
Sreeja's father Praveen Kumar said the result was on expected lines. "We were expecting this result. She has improved a lot in the last few months and we were confident that she would win a few medals at the Nationals," Praveen said.
Sreeja and her coach Somnath Ghosh thanked their sponsors Raheja and PWC for their support.
Results (finals): Men: G Sathiyan (PPB) bt Harmeet Desai (PSPB) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5. Doubles: Jeet Chandra/Ankur Bhattacharjee (WB) bt Mohammed Ali/Vansh Singhal (Telg) 11-6, 11-7, 11-6.Women: Sreeja Akula (RBI) bt Sutirtha Mukherjee (WB) 9-11, 14-12, 11-7, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10. Doubles: Sreeja Akula/Diya Chitale (RBI) bt Swastika Ghosh/Shruti Amrute (Mah) 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 14-12. Mixed doubles: Manav Thakkar/Archana Kamath (PSPB) bt Ankur Bhattacharjee/Moumita Datta (WB) 11-5, 14-12, 11-3. SFs: Ankur Bhattacahrjee/Moumita Datta bt G Sathiyan/Manika Batra (PSPB) 11-6, 11-0, 11-0; Manav Thakkar/Archana Kamath bt Manush Shah/Sreeja Akula (RBI) 11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5.