Sreeja wins double gold in WTT Contender

Lagos (Nigeria), Jun 23 (PTI) Paris Olympics-bound Sreeja Akula on Sunday became the first Indian paddler to win a WTT Contender Singles title when she defeated Ding Yijie of China 4-1 in the final here.

Sreeja also returned with a second gold as she along with Archana Kamath got the better of compatriots Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade 3-0 (11-9 11-6 12-10) in the women's doubles as India ended their campaign with three gold and one silver.

India also bagged the men's doubles gold medal when the duo of Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar blanked Azeez Solanke and Olajide Omotayo 3-0 (11-811-9, 11-8).

In the women's singles final, Akula had a jittery start losing the first game against her Chinese rival 10-12 but she came back strongly to win the next four games 11-9 11-6 11-8 11-6 to seal the gold. PTI TAP SSC SSC