Sreeja Akula reaches career-best ranking of 24, replaces Manika Batra as Indian No. 1

Shashank is a sports journalist, analyst, and above all, a true sports enthusiast.

Published at :June 25, 2024 at 1:20 PM

Modified at :August 22, 2024 at 1:11 PM

(Courtesy : X/@India_AllSports)

Sreeja Akula became the first Indian to win a singles title at the Contender level in Lagos.

India’s Sreeja Akula has jumped 19 spots to reach her career-best ranking of 24 in women’s singles. Additionally, she has regained her spot as the Indian No. 1 by dethroning Manika Batra.

The latest rankings were released earlier today, which see Sreeja Akula leapfrog Manika Batra to enter the top 25. At the recently-concluded 2024 WTT Contender Lagos, Akula made history by becoming the first Indian to win a singles title at the Contender level.

She recorded a resounding (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8) victory over Ding Yijie in the final. In addition, the Indian paddler also partnered with Archana Girish Kamath to win the women’s doubles title in Lagos, Nigeria.

With the double triumph, Akula became the first Indian to win two titles at the same Contender event. Interestingly, Akula and Kamath defeated Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 12-10) in an all-Indian final to win the doubles title.

🚨 After a stellar campaign at 2024 WTT Contender Lagos 🏓5️⃣ 🇮🇳 Indian paddlers are in the top 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ women's singles rankings ‼️#tabletennis #sreejaakula #manikabatra #indiansports #indiantabletennis #WTTLagos #ITTF pic.twitter.com/5b5NMFMs2U
— Khel Now (@KhelNow) June 25, 2024

Apart from Sreeja Akula, Lagos semi-finalist Sutirtha Mukherjee also took a massive leap of 50 spots in the ITTF rankings to become the new World No. 75. Yashaswini Ghorpade jumped 13 spots to take the 86th spot Ayhika Mukherjee entered the top 100 by leaping 42 spots.

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Nevertheless, Manika Batra dropped a spot as she became World No. 29 from No. 28. The Indian men’s doubles pair of Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai stunned Nigeria’s Azeez Solanke and Olajide Omotayo (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) and won the WTT Contender Lagos.

In the men’s singles rankings, Sharath Kamal entered the top 40, while Manav Thakkar jumped four spots to take the 59th position in the world rankings. Moreover, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran also became the new World No. 68, improving his position in the world rankings by three.

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Shashank Tripathi

Shashank is a journalist at Khel Now covering Olympic sports. A Journalism and Mass Communication graduate, he’s a former national-level footballer and multi-sport athlete. A Liverpool fan since 2014, he idolizes Steven Gerrard and admires Rafael Nadal’s grit. Known for his accurate, well-researched reporting, Shashank also follows tennis, WWE, and taekwondo.