This year, Indian paddler Sreeja Akula has been a bit of a revelation. Not only she won two feeder tournaments — the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi and WTT Feeder Beirut II, but she is now also the highest-ranked Indian in the latest ITTF rankings. Sreeja achieved her career-best ranking of 38, surpassing mighty talented Manika Batra, who is at 39.
Focus on Mixed Doubles Too
One of the key reasons for Manika’s decline in the rankings has been, her attention getting diverted to the mixed doubles as well, where she partners G Sathiyan. The pair is 19th in the world, and have an outside chance of a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Now, come May, Manika’s focus will also increase in singles, where there are a lot of points at stake. The Saudi Smash will begin from May 1, and that will be chance for both Manika & Sreeja to prepare well for the Olympics.
Other Indian Rankings
Veteran Sharath Kamal is the best-placed men’s singles shuttler at World no. 37. He is followed by G Sathiyan at 60, Manav Thakkar at 61, and Harmeet Desai at 64. That means, it will be a tough call for the second men’s singles player for the Paris 2024 Olympics, between Sathiyan, Thakkar, and Desai.
