Injured Sreeja Akula ruled out of Ultimate Table Tennis 2024

Sreeja Akula has been ruled out of the forthcoming Ultimate Table Tennis on Monday. The UTT 2024 will be held in Chennai from August 22 to September 7.

Sreeja, 26, has been diagnosed with a stress fracture upon her arrival in Hyderabad, India, on Saturday from Paris.

"I am sorry to share that I have been diagnosed with a stress fracture and on my doctor's advice, I will need to rest for six weeks, which unfortunately means I would not be able to participate in UTT 2024," Sreeja remarked in an UTT announcement on social media.

Sreeja was drafted to the Jaipur Patriots for UTT 2024.

Sreeja, on her Olympic debut in the Paris Olympics 2024, became only the second Indian after Manika Batra to reach the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles event at the Olympics.

World No. 22 Sreeja defeated Christina Kallberg 11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8, 4-0 in the first round.

In the third round, Sreeja delivered another stellar performance when she beat Zeng Jian of Singapore 9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5, 10-12, 4-2.

She, however, went down fighting against World No. 1 Sun Yingsha in the quarterfinals 10-12, 10-12, 8-11, 3-11, 0-4.

Sreeja also played an important role for the Indian women's team when she paired up with Archana Kamath to give India an 11-9 12-10 11-7 win in the first match of the pre-quarterfinals tie against Romania.

The Indian women's team, playing at the Olympics for the first time, lost a chance to reach the semifinals when they lost to Germany in the quarterfinals.