Sreeja Akula withdraws from Ultimate Table Tennis 2024 after a stress fracture, to be replaced by Nithyashree Mani

Ace Indian table tennis player Sreeja Akula has been ruled out of the upcoming season of Ultimate Table Tennis due to a stress fracture. UTT 2024 is to be held in Chennai from August 22 to September 7 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Sreeja Akula, who recently took part in the Paris Olympics 2024, was quick to release a statement, throwing some light on her injury. On her doctor’s advice, she would need at least six weeks of rest.

“I’m sorry to share that I have been diagnosed with a stress fracture and on my doctor’s advice, I’ll need to rest for six weeks, which unfortunately means I won’t be able to participate in UTT 2024,” Akula said in a statement.

Sreeja Akula was roped in by Jaipur Patriots for the UTT 2024 season

Sreeja Akula was initially drafted in by the Jaipur Patriots franchise. However, she would be replaced by the U19 Youth National Champion paddler and UTT debutant Nithyashree Mani in the upcoming season.

In the last edition, Sreeja was part of the Dabang Delhi TTC franchise alongside Barbora Balazova and Ayhika Mukherjee in the women's category. Dabang Delhi TTC bagged 42 points with 14 victories in the league phase.

However, in the playoff, Dabang Delhi suffered a defeat to Goa Challengers by 2-3 to bow out of the competition. Chennai Lions went on to win the campaign by 3-2, defeating Goa Challengers.

Sreeja made her UTT debut with the Yoddhas Warriors TTC in the 2018 season alongside Sofia Polcanova, Hana Matelova, and Pooja Sahasrabudhe in the women's category. However, they failed to make it to the playoffs.

It’s worth noting that Sreeja Akula emerged as the first Indian paddler to win a singles title at the WTT Contender level after securing a title at the WTT Contender Lagos recently.

Furthermore, she also had an impressive Paris 2024 campaign after making it to the pre-quarter-final of the women’s singles and the quarter-final of the women’s team. Notably, she secured a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham and two gold medals at the South Asian Games in 2019.