Sreeja Akula has advanced into the round of 16 of the women’s singles category, after defeating Singapore’s Zeng Jian in an evenly contested match at the Paris Olympics, on Wednesday.
Sreeja prevailed 4-2 across six sets and became the second Indian paddler to make it to the table tennis round of 16 after Manika Batra, who achieved the feat just a few days back.
Sreeja Akula becomes the 2nd Indian🇮🇳 player ever after Manika Batra to make it to the round of 1⃣6️⃣ with a victory over Singapore’s🇸🇬 Zeng Jian.
She will next face World Rank 1 China’s🇨🇳 Sun Yingsha in the round of 16 with a 9-11 12-10 11-4 11-5 10-12 12-10 victory.
Super… pic.twitter.com/xpGTS72ghK
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) July 31, 2024
Sreeja started off the game slow and the talented Singaporean paddler took full advantage of it. Although Sreeja fought back and it was a very close contest, Zeng Jian prevailed and took the game 11-9.
The birthday girl then fought her way back in game two, and despite Zeng having a game point, Sreeja avoided it and won 12-10 and made it 1-1.
Game three and four saw Sreeja at her very best as she galloped through the two sets with minimal fuss and took an unassailing 3-1 lead.
But Zian was not done yet. In game five, she turned up the heat and made it 3-2, putting the pressure on Sreeja.
In what was a very closely fought sixth set, Sreeja prevailed after saving a game point yet again, closing the game out 12-10 and winning the match 4-2.
Sreeja will now face world no.1 paddler Sun Yingsha from China, arguably her most difficult match in what is her debut Olympic campaign.