Sreeja nearly shocks world No.16; makes mixed final

An Indian woman paddler with a long pimpled rubber had a Commonwealth Games to cherish in 2018. Another Indian woman paddler with a long pimpled rubber is having a Commonwealth Games to cherish in 2022.

PREMIUM

While Manika Batra was the talk of the town in Gold Coast for her history-setting medals for Indian table tennis, Sreeja Akula, in her quiet, unassuming way, has gone about business here carrying the self-belief she has never felt before in her career.

Sreeja, ranked 76th in the world in singles, played the match of her life against world No. 16 Tianwei Feng in the semi-finals, leading by two games to one before the Singaporean summoned all her class and big-level experience to pull through 4-3 (11-6, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10).

The reigning national champion was at the doorstep of the gold battle in singles. Less than two hours later, she broke into it in mixed doubles with the ever-present Sharath Kamal, the Indian duo edging past the Aussie pairing of Nicholas Lum and Minhyung Jee 3-2 in the semi-final. In her first CWG, the Hyderabadi has placed her hands on one medal already as the fight for more awaits.

Like Manika, Sreeja’s long pimpled backhand rubber stands out. “She has been using it from her childhood days and playing well with it,” said Somnath Ghosh, her coach for 11 years who has travelled to Birmingham. “She will continue using it but while also developing other aspects of her game.”

The improved facets in Sreeja’s game, like increased speed behind shots while going on the attack and those forehand topspins, have been on show here. The sea change in her fitness and willingness to dig in for a dogfight was also evident in her quarter-final win against Wales' Charlotte Carey in which she overturned a 1-3 deficit to win.

“She has been more attacking with her game in this CWG, and the pace at which she has played those offensive strokes have been critical when she is down for a fight in a match. It’s like when you're pushed against the wall, you come out stronger,” said Ghosh. “I never thought that from 3-1 down in the quarters, having already played so many matches (in team, doubles and mixed events), she will be able to do what she has done. Her stamina has been remarkable here.”

The coach outlined Sreeja’s career path thus far in the average loop, unable to take that next level leap in quick time. Her dedication was never in question, but self-confidence was. “I used to tell her, ‘Sreeja you have everything in you, you just need that confidence of playing like a winner’. She would play decent but needed that lift at the higher level.”

That came about in a zonal where she exited in the quarter-finals. The loss, however, felt different in the mind. A little later, she won the senior national title beating Mouma Das in the final. “Despite that zonal loss, she told me now I know what I have to do. And the national champion tag was a big boost,” Ghosh said.

Also with that tag this year was Sharath, her mixed doubles partner at this CWG. They’d never played together before and with precious little training in Hyderabad before flying to Birmingham, the two find themselves on the podium. “If Sharath would have not been there beside her, she would not have won this medal,” Ghosh said.

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