Sreeja Akula advanced to the WTT Contender Lagos semifinals after two commanding wins

HYDERABAD: Paris Olympian Sreeja Akula from Hyderabad continued her impressive run, following up her stunning victory over top seed Hina Hayata with back-to-back victories to seal a place in the semifinals of the WTT Contender Lagos on Friday.

The 26-year-old started the day by defeating Italian Debora Vivarelli 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-1 to seal a place in the quarterfinals. She backed the performance up by comprehensively defeating Portugal’s Jieni Shao 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 to qualify for the penultimate round of the tournament.