How practice and a Chinese Taipei stint made Sreeja near-perfect before the Olympics

On her 26th birthday, India’s top-ranked player Sreeja Akula joined Manika Batra in the Round of 16 of the women’s singles table tennis at the Olympics. She beat Singapore’s World No. 52 Zeng Jian 4-2 (9-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5, 10-12, 12-10) on Wednesday. The Indian duo has created history, as this is the first time two Indians—even one – have reached this stage of the Olympics.

It may have been her birthday, but Jian wasn’t in any mood to shower gifts on the her opponent. Sreeja, World No.25, was made to toil, but she was prepared for the long haul. She knew her first Olympics would not be easy, so she had prepared rigorously for the biggest stage. Her plan was simple-play all day. A table was all she needed for that.

She wanted a Table Tennis’ version of an all-you-can-eat buffet when she headed to Chinese Taipei for training. Three practice sessions spanning 12 hours, including one post dinner, against 20 opponents with varying playing styles, was the Hyderabadi’s three-course fill before she set out to Paris.

“When you travel for tournaments, you have timing slots to practice. But I just wanted to be at the table the entire day. I wanted to play against various types of opponents. I wanted nothing but table tennis for more than a week,” Sreeja had told The Indian Express. That’s exactly what she got.

Whirlwind lead-up

India’s No. 1 paddler has had a whirlwind eight months leading up to the Paris Olympics. From doubting herself to becoming the first Indian to win a WTT tournament and beating a top Chinese player, to adding another WTT title, all the while suffering from a tennis elbow problem, she has been through it all. And silently. Now, nothing can distract her from her ultimate goal – medalling at the Olympics.

In April, she had a high-intensity 12-day training camp in Chinese Taipei where she sparred with 15-16 year-olds. When she was struggling with her tennis elbow, she sought help from Strength & Conditioning (S&C) experts from the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad.

Fully fit, Sreeja was ready to spearhead the women’s team comprising her, alongside Manika and Archana Kamath. Considering their fabulous performances in WTT events and at the ITTF World Team Championships in Busan earlier this year, a lot was expected and Sreeja knew she had to play a pivotal role. “She’s very motivated. She knows she has the quality and the game to perform at the highest level,” says Somnath Ghosh, her coach of 14 years.

Paris 2024 Olympics – Table Tennis – Women’s Singles Round of 32 – South Paris Arena 4, Paris, France – July 31, 2024. Sreeja Akula of India in action during her round of 32 match against Jian Zeng of Singapore. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

When Sreeja won her first women’s singles title at a World Table Tennis (WTT) event — the Corpus Christi Feeder tournament at the start of the year — she didn’t really think much of it. It was a perfect start to the Olympic year, but Sreeja knew that Paris was a long way off and she was still far from her best. Before her win at Corpus Christi, Sreeja admitted she doubted herself on the world stage. “I was getting great results in the domestic circuit, but internationally I couldn’t get the results I wanted,” she had told this newspaper.

Confidence restored after Corpus Christi, she reached the quarterfinal of the WTT Star Contender in Goa. It was, however, the World Team Championships that changed everything for her. In what was a historic day for Indian table tennis, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja beat the Chinese World No. 1 and World No. 2 respectively. Though they lost the overall tie, suddenly the world was talking about the Indian women’s TT. “After that win, we knew that everyone would be watching us now. Not just watching, they would be expecting us to do well too. It motivates you to do better and to improve. The Olympics was just added motivation,” Sreeja had told this daily.

Ghosh has seen Sreeja grow into a world-beater but says she has become a different beast in 2024. After all, she jumped 70 places from World No. 94 in January to her best ranking –World No. 24 in June. “She’s willing to do everything and anything to improve. That’s the mindset of a champion,” Ghosh says.

TT to the T

After winning a Feeder II series in Beirut, Sreeja could’ve had a training camp with top Indian players at an academy in the country, but instead she chose to travel to Chinese Taipei.

“They have a phenomenal academy where upcoming youngsters focus only on table tennis,” says Ghosh, who accompanied her. “The schedule was such that she would wake up at 6.30 am and go running. Immediately after that was breakfast, and then practice till lunch. Then practice again till dinner and after that, another practice. It was 11-12 days of just that and she was so happy.”

Paris 2024 Olympics – Table Tennis – Women’s Singles Round of 32 – South Paris Arena 4, Paris, France – July 31, 2024. Sreeja Akula of India reacts as she wins her round of 32 match against Jian Zeng of Singapore. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Sreeja said it was refreshing to have so many sparring partners. “When we train here, we don’t have that many sparring partners but over there, we had players from all age groups. There were more than 20 15-16-year-olds who had amazing energy and drive. They also had varying playing styles that gave me great experience in the lead-up to the Olympics,” she said.

While the Chinese Taipei stint gave her incredible experience, it also bolstered her confidence to face any type of opponent. Her fearlessness was on display when she won the women’s singles and women’s doubles title at the WTT Contender in Lagos late last month.

While Jian was a tough opponent, Sreeja knows a tougher test awaits in the Rd of 16. She knows that there won’t be any 15-16-year-olds, but she says she no longer fears anyone. For she knows she is equipped to neuter the challenges.

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