Paris 2024: TT player Sreeja aims to carry recent success to Olympics

Sreeja created history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to win a WTT Contender singles title and on Tuesday she became the country's top paddler with a career-high ranking of 24

Indian's top-ranked women's table tennis player Sreeja Akula credits her enhanced mental and physical strength over the past two years for her stunning victories against higher-ranked players as she hopes to carry this momentum into the Paris Olympics.

Sreeja created history last week by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to win a WTT Contender singles title and on Tuesday she became the country's top paddler with a career-high ranking of 24.

For the last two years, I have been working a lot on improving my mental strength and I think that is the first aspect where I have improved, especially in 2024. I am mentally well prepared to play against any opponent, whoever it is," Sreeja said an interview with Ultimate Table Tennis.

"I have also been working a lot on my strength and conditioning, especially to prevent injuries, and to improve my agility on the table. I think that has made a lot of difference in my game.

"I have also worked a lot on my first ball attack against the push. I have tried to be more consistent in attacking that ball and I can see these three aspects have brought a lot of change in my game, she said.

Sreeja would be participating in both the team and individual events and is definitely high on confidence as she has hit a purple patch this year.

"It's my debut Olympic Games but I think I am well prepared for the tournament. I just want to play my best in whichever event I am playing and just want to create the maximum number of upsets."

Both Indian men's and women's teams have secured a historic qualification in the team event at the Paris Olympics.

In 2022, Sreeja had teamed up with Sharath to win the mixed doubles gold in her first-ever Commonwealth Games appearance in Birmingham.

Sreeja, who had upset World No. 2 Wang Yidi of China at the 2023 ITTF World Team Championships, began the year by winning the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi 2024 singles title in January and added another crown in Beirut two months later.

The Hyderabad-based paddler defeated upcoming Chinese player Ding Yijie in the singles final at the WTT Contender in Lagos and then combined with compatriot Archana Kamath to win a doubles crown.

The former national champion also credited UTT experience for her overall development.