Record Seven Indian Paddlers Advance to Finals at WTT Contender
In an astonishing feat for the country, a total of seven Indian table tennis players have made it through to the title matches of the various events at the ongoing World Table Tennis Contender tournament in Lagos, Nigeria. This includes both women's doubles pairs alongside a men's doubles duo contesting for the crowns. Most notably however is Sreeja Akula creating history as the first ever Indian to feature in the women's singles final of a WTT Contender competition.
Akula delivered a scintillating performance in her semifinal tie, saving three match points to overcome a tough challenge. She will now seek to go one step further by winning the gold when she squares off against the winner of the other semifinal. Her compatriot Sutirtha Mukherjee also had an impressive run, stunning the highly ranked eighth seed South Korean Shin Yubin in the quarterfinals. However, Mukherjee then lost her semifinal encounter against Akula.
In the doubles disciplines, Archana Kamath and Sreeja Akula cruised through to the women's final without dropping a set so far. There they will look to defeat another all-Indian pairing of Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade. On the men's side, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar battled hard before narrowly losing in the semis and will now aim to claim bronze.
The positive outcomes in Lagos come during the early stages of the Indian team's preparation for the upcoming Olympics under their newly appointed head coach. Judging by the seven finalists achieved, the strategic approach seems to be yielding results as desired. Moreover, it provides a confidence boost for the players and coaches alike ahead of bigger challenges on the horizon.
