WTT FeederCorpus Christi 2024: Akula clinches maiden international title with dominant final win over Zhang

On her way to the final, the paddler from Hyderabad defeated Stephanie Loeuillette and upset top seed Amy Wang in a nail-biting quarterfinal.

Indian table tennis player Akula Sreeja who won her first international title inUS on Thursday night. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Two-time National champion Sreeja Akula claimed her first international title when she defeated world No. 46 Lily Zhang of the USA 11-6, 18-16, 11-5 in the women’s singles final of the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi 2024 on Friday to start the New Year on a high.

On her way to the final, the paddler from Hyderabad defeated Stephanie Loeuillette 3-1 and upset top seed Amy Wang 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 11-1, 6-11, 11-9) in a nail-biting quarterfinal.

The 25-year-old Indian, ranked 94th in the world, led the final 2-1. However, she allowed the world No. 37, Zhang, to claw her way back and level the score. However, Sreeja outwitted her by grabbing the last few points in the decider.

In the semifinals, she ran into Jiangshan Gao, another US paddler of Chinese origin, and led 2-1. Precariously placed at 1-2, the US player staged a fine recovery to level the score in the fourth extended game at 12-10. After that, she finished the close fifth game to win 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9 and enter the final.

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“I am immensely pleased, and my efforts got me where I wanted to be. It’s my maiden international title, and I have earned it after two close calls in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the tournament. Both (Amy and Lily) were higher-ranked players and played well against them,” Sreeja informed Sportstar.

“I am happy to win my first international singles title. This win will help the Indian Women’s team to qualify for the Olympic Games 2024 and would also help me to qualify for the singles event,” she said.

“This title will boost my confidence for the future and I wish our new Telangana govt will help me to prepare well for my Paris Olympic and all upcoming tournaments,” she said.

“This achievement is a testament to the unwavering support from my family, coach Somnath Ghosh, support staff and my sponsor Dream Foundation, my employer RBI, our academy sponsors UTT, CTRL-S, and RAHEJA, I extend my deepest gratitude to each one of them for being an integral part of my journey so far. I am delighted to reach this milestone and look forward to many more successful tournaments in the future”, Sreeja concluded.