Sreeja Akula became the first Indian paddler to win a WTT Contender singles title as she beat World No. 504 Ding Yijie of China 4-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6) in the final in Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday.
The India No 2 paddler, along with Archana Kamath, defeated compatriots Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade 3-0 (11-9. 11-6, 12-10) to clinch the women’s doubles crown as well.
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Sreeja and Archana had won 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 12-10) against Asian Games bronze medallists Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee in the semifinals. On the other hand, Diya and Yashaswini had claimed a 3-1 (14-12, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7) win over China’s Sun Sinan and Ding in their final-four clash.
Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar became the first Indian male duo to triumph at this level as they defeated local favourites Azeez Solanke and Olajide Omotayo 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) in the men’s doubles final.
Sreeja, Archana, Harmeet and Manav are part of the Indian table tennis squad for Paris Olympics, which will be led by Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra.
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