Sreeja on her tears and the CWG excessive
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To say Sreeja Akula was distraught could be an understatement. After narrowly dropping the ladies’s singles bronze playoff, the 24-year-old went to her room in Birmingham and was inconsolable. The ache was an excessive amount of to take, particularly having additionally misplaced the semi-final in one other tight contest the day gone by. “I used to be very dissatisfied, significantly as a result of I misplaced regardless of taking part in very well. I used to be crying loads,” says Akula.
It took calls from the staff’s psychologist and psychological coach Gayatri Vartak and coach Somnath Ghosh to settle down Akula as she had one other match to play—crucial one—within the subsequent few hours. Having additionally didn't medal in ladies’s doubles and ladies’s staff occasions, the combined doubles ultimate with the seasoned Sharath Kamal, 40, was her ultimate likelihood of redemption.
As soon as persuaded to tug herself collectively, Akula took some relaxation earlier than returning to the Nationwide Exhibition Centre for the ultimate desk tennis match of the day, in opposition to Javen Choong and Karen Lyne of Malaysia. Akula maintained her composure to win the competition pairing Sharath 3-1 to bag her first Commonwealth Video games (CWG) gold. “Fortunately, I had 6-7 hours between the 2 matches. I believed okay, I've the combined doubles ultimate now and I solely need gold. I made a decision to play all out and go for it,” she says.
The Hyderabad participant carried that angle not simply within the ultimate however all through the match, typically taking cost and the accountability of attacking their opponents with Sharath taking part in second fiddle. “The Malaysian pair had overwhelmed Manika (Batra) di and (G) Sathiyan bhaiya within the quarter-finals. We took some inputs from them. They mentioned the Malaysians had been actually good in opposition to pimples (pimpled rubber is to counter spin). I realised I shouldn’t simply rely on my rubber—I've pimpled rubber on my backhand—and go considering that if I put the ball with the pimpled facet, we are able to get some extent. I made up my thoughts to assault at any time when doable. That was the one technique. Sharath bhaiya instructed me to play freely, play high quality assault at any time when I can and never anticipate some extent with my rubber.”
Regardless of the importance of the match, Akula was by no means overwhelmed. “I had no strain in any respect within the ultimate as a result of after taking part in so many matches in all of the occasions and dropping very shut matches, my confidence was excessive. I used to be set to the circumstances and desk. I believed I’ll simply play free and take a look at every little thing I had learnt. Possibly after a loss we really feel that within the subsequent match we'll strive every little thing; it was like that for me," she says.
Well timed method
It was Ghosh who made the transfer to get Akula to accomplice Sharath on the CWG. It was on the Shillong nationals in April that Ghosh determined to request his shut pal Sharath to accomplice the Hyderabad participant at Birmingham. Sharath and the Desk Tennis Federation of India’s choice committee agreed. “I felt very fortunate after I received to know that I will be taking part in with Sharath bhaiya,” says the 24-year-old, employed with the Reserve Financial institution of India.
Previous to the CWG, the pair had performed collectively solely as soon as, on the 2019 Commonwealth Championships. That point too it was by likelihood that they partnered. “It was sudden. Sharath bhaiya and Manika di had been to play collectively however Manika di fell sick and returned residence. I did not even get an entry for the staff occasion. As a result of it was held in India (Cuttack), I received an additional entry. I used to be the one one left on the market and had an identical taking part in model to Manika di,” says the world No 77. “They determined to place us collectively to strive us out. I had no concept what to do—it was my first large match in seniors however we nonetheless received bronze.”
It has been an incredible yr for Akula. She received her first senior nationwide singles crown, and the doubles title too with Ayhika Mukherjee. Akula now has a Commonwealth Video games gold. She's going to subsequent play on the August 23-28 WTT Feeder at Olomouc, Czech Republic, and within the WTT Contender in Muscat from September 4-10. “Oman can be a giant match for me. Then we've got the South Zone nationwide rating match from September 13, the Nationwide Video games adopted by the World Championships (Sept 30-Oct 9). It’s going to be a busy month," concluded Akula, who goals to interrupt into the world’s prime 50 in rankings this yr.
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