WTT Star Contender Goa 2024: Sreeja Akula enters quarter-finals, Manika-Archana crash out

Mapusa (Goa), Jan 27: Indian paddler Sreeja Akula stormed into the women's singles quarter-finals after registering a commanding victory in the ongoing World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Goa 2024.

In what could be termed as a mixed day for India, top-seeded Indian single paddler Manika Batra and Archana Kamath suffered defeats in their respective last-8 matches at the Peddem Indoor Stadium in Mapusa, Goa on Saturday (January 27).

The 25-year-old Akula - who hails from Hyderabad - began the contest on a positive note against a higher-ranked opponent from Hong Kong Doo Hoi Kem (WR 36) and won the thrilling first game before losing the second. However, the World No. 66 looked in complete control of the next two games and clinched the match by 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8) to reach the quarter-finals.

"I am really happy to win this match. In 2021, I had lost to the same opponent, so it feels really great to win a match against her in this tournament. I was able to execute my plans perfectly and kept myself motivated even after losing the second game to win the contest.

"She was really aggressive and I focused on putting the ball on the table and choosing the right ball to attack which worked in my favour. I will be well prepared for the upcoming match as well," commented Akula after the victory.

In the other game, India's top-ranked singles paddler Batra (WR 38) went down 1-3 (11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 9-11) against the World No. 13 Xiaoxin Yang of Monaco despite winning the first game of the contest. In the other women's singles pre-quarterfinal, youngster from Bengaluru Kamath lost to South Korea's Jeon Jihee by 1-3 (11-13, 11-9, 6-11, 4-11).

World No. 8 Shin Yubin of South Korea continued her positive form to defeat Sweden's Christina Kallberg 3-1 (11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6), whereas Chinese Taipei's Cheng I-ching (WR 18) beat Yang Ha Eun of South Korea by 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9).

In the last-16 stage of the men's singles category, World No. 8 Felix Lebrun of France extended his sparkling form to register a comfortable 3-0 (11-3, 12-10, 11-9) win against Sweden's Ruls Moregard. However, his brother Alexis Lebrun faced a 1-3 (8-11, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11) defeat against World No. 14 Quadri Aruna of Nigeria.

Six-time Olympic medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany looked in fine form to beat England's Liam Pitchford 3-1 (11-5, 8-11, 17-15, 11-8) as he made his way into the quarter-finals of WTT Star Contender Goa 2024. The tournament is co-hosted by Stupa Sports Analytics and Ultimate Table Tennis under the guidance of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

The semi-finals and finals will be played on Sunday (January 28) as the fans can enjoy the world-class action by booking their tickets on BookMyShow. The thrilling action will be available live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & Sony Sports Ten 2 HD channels on TV and live stream on Sony Liv app.