Paris Olympics 2024: India's Sreeja Akula outclasses Sweden's Christina Kallberg in opener, enters Round of 32
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Jul 28, 2024, 3:11 PM ISTIndian table tennis player Sreeja Akula kicked off her Paris Olympics 2024 campaign with an impressive 4-0 victory against Sweden's Christina Kallberg in the round of 64 in the women's singles event on Sunday.
India’s top-ranked table tennis player, Sreeja Akula, advanced to the round of 32 with a decisive 4-0 victory over Sweden’s Christina Kallberg in her opening women's singles match at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Sunday.
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Sreeja, who made history as the first Indian paddler to win a WTT Contender singles title, secured the win with scores of 11-4, 11-9, 11-7, and 11-8 in a 30-minute match against the Swede.
Sreeja Akula showing her class in 🏓
pic.twitter.com/1L2VnQlERP
Top-ranked Indian paddler Sreeja Akula stands tall to clinch a superb 11-4 11-7 11-9 11-8 victory over Sweden's Christina Kallberg in the women's singles round of 64. pic.twitter.com/jRe3HxGHG6
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI)🇮🇳 𝗦𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗷𝗮 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁! Sreeja Akula gets her Olympics campaign off to a winning start as she defeats Christina Kallberg, 4-0, in the round of 64 in the women's singles event.
🏓 Sreeja looked very confident today during the match, a positive… pic.twitter.com/85ghIUcrFD
The Indian had an easy time taking the first set but faced more resistance in the second, with Kallberg challenging her in the subsequent sets as well.
In the third set, the match was closely contested, with both players going neck-and-neck until Sreeja broke away at 7-5 to win the set.
Sreeja started strong in the fourth set, gaining a 9-3 lead. However, a few unforced errors and some good smashes from Kallberg reduced the lead to 9-7, and then to 10-8.
A powerful, unanswered forehand to the right corner of the table secured Sreeja's victory and her place in the next round.
In the upcoming round of 32, Sreeja will face either Jian Zeng or Ivana Malobabic. The match is anticipated to be a tough contest, but Sreeja's performance today has set a promising tone for her Olympic journey.
In other matches of the day, Manika Batra is set to face Anna Hursey of Great Britain, while veteran Sharath Kamal will compete against Deni Kozul of Slovenia.
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