Paris Olympics 2024: While the whole of India was jubilant, Sreeja Akula celebrated her 26th birthday with a dry smile and a fist bump while scripting history at the same moment.
She became the second Indian paddler to qualify for the Pre-Quarterfinal in the Olympics after Manika Batra. She will now face the reigning World Champion Sun Yingsham but right now, let her celebrate this moment for a little bit.
It was a day of comeback for the Indians as after Lakshya Sen, Sreeja made a sensational comeback after losing the first set. It was a tough game at the start, but Sreeja found her groove and defeated Singapore’s Jian Zeng by 4-2.
Paris Olympics 2024: Best Birthday
After Manika Batra made history by qualifying for the Pre-QF, Sreeja made sure to not leave her alone. It was a tough start for Sreeja but once she found her groove nothing was holding her back.
In the six-game match, Akula lost the first set by 9-11. But she made a swift comeback and battled it out in the second game to win it by 12-10. After that Sreeja closed the next two sets quickly but 11-4, 11-5.
Zeng made a comeback after winning the fifth set 10-12 and made the game a little bit more intense. The sixth and final game was also intense but Sreeja closed the game with 12-10.
History Makers
Sreeja became the second Indian paddler to qualify for the Pre-QF after Manika Batra and both of them are looking in unreal form and can bring the glory back to the country.
This is Sreeja’s debut Olympic campaign and she is the highest-ranked Indian paddler at the moment. But her next match will be tough as she will face the reigning World Champion Sun Yingsham in the Quarter Final.
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