WTT Lagos: Sreeja Akula advances to her maiden WTT Contender final
Sreeja Akula advanced to the finals of the WTT Contender Lagos in both the women's singles and women's doubles categories.
Sreeja Akula achieves a new career-high ranking of World No. 24 in the latest ITTF rankings.
Sreeja Akula advanced to the final of the WTT Contender Lagos after a hard-fought victory against compatriot Sutirtha Mukherjee in the semifinals on Saturday.
This marks her first appearance in the final of a WTT Contender event. Sreeja secured a thrilling five-game win (11-8, 13-15, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10) over Sutirtha in a high-intensity match, which was also the longest of the day.
The high-intensity semi-final
Sreeja started the match strongly, clinching the first game with a solid attacking display. However, Sutirtha bounced back in the second game despite missing five game point opportunities, troubling Sreeja.
The match remained closely contested as Sutirtha won another game to force a decider. The final game was topsy-turvy, with Sutirtha gaining three match point opportunities. At 7-10 down, Sreeja held her composure and made a tremendous comeback, securing five consecutive points to book her spot in the final.
She will face the young Chinese player Ding Yijie, who secured her final berth by defeating Indian paddler Ayhika Mukherjee in a closely fought five-game match (11-7, 7-11, 11-2, 11-13, 11-4).
All-Indian Women's Doubles Final
Sreeja then teamed up with Archana Girish Kamath to pull off an upset in the women's doubles category. They secured a straight-game victory (11-7, 11-5, 12-10) over the top-seeded Indian pairing of Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee.
In the final, they will face another Indian pair, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade, ensuring an all-Indian showdown on Sunday. Diya and Yashaswini advanced to the final after a closely contested four-game win over the young Chinese duo of Ding Yijie and Sun Sinan.
Meanwhile, in the men's doubles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Utpal Shah also secured their spot in the final with a comfortable straight-game victory (11-4, 11-9, 11-5) against the Chinese pair of Ning Xiankun and Kang Youde. They are set to face the Nigerian pairing of Azeez Solanke and Olajide Omotayo in the final on Sunday.