Paris (France): India’s young paddler Sreeja Akula equalled her compatriot Manika Batra’s feat of becoming the first Indian table tennis player to enter pre-quarterfinal in the Olympics. She beat Singapore’s Zeng Jian to enter the round of 16 stage in the French capital.
Throughout the match, Sreeja's forehands were very sharp and deceptive. She struck forehands into the spaces where it as quite tough for her opponent to return the ball. Singaporean tried to make her way back by compelling Sreeja to play on her backhand. It was a very intense battle in the last two games and the Zeng won the sixth game by 12-10. In the last game also, the scores were tied at 10-10 but Akula kept her composure to emerge triumphant by winning the game.
In the first game, Zheng dominated the opponent but the Indian was to fight back fiercely very soon. Sreeja then showcased some scintillating strokes to win three games on trot but Zeng bounced back with a win in the fifth. Sreeja held her nerves and won the last game to wrap up the match.
Earlier on Sunday, Sreeja beat Swedish paddler to kick off the Paris campaign and continued her winning momentum by winning her fixture on Wednesday as well. Manika Batra has also reached the pre-quarterfinal of the Paris Games and now the Indian contingent will expect a stellar performance from Sreeja and Manika both to secure a podium finish.
