Tag: Ovtcharov

Singles winners at the just concluded WTT Contender Lagos Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov and India’s Sreeja Akula have risen in Week 26 of the 2024 ITTF Ranking released by the world table tennis ruling body.

Ovtcharov who ranked 19^th  before the tournament rose to 14 in the Men’s ranking while Akula displaced Manika Batra as the highest-ranked female Indian player in the world after she climbed up by 19 steps to be rated 24th in the world.

Ovtcharov, a finalist at the 2023 edition of the WTT Contender Lagos, right the wrong by claiming the title at the expense of his compatriot Ricardo Walther at 4-1 to claim his first WTT title since 2021.

Like the German, Akula prevailed against Ding Yijie of China 4-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6) to set history becoming the first Indian to win the WTT Series singles crown.

The 25-year-old became the most successful player at the WTT Contender Lagos as she partnered with Archana Girish Kamath to register a 3-0 victory in the women’s doubles finals defeating compatriots Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Parag Chitale to increase her title to two in one tournament.

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A delighted Akula after her Lagos triumph said: “I’m very happy to win my first WTT Contender title. The first one is always special, and I’m happy to win two titles here in Lagos. I think the Indians have been doing well for the last few years, and our table tennis has been growing fast.

 “This has been an amazing tournament for all Indians contingent, and we are all looking forward to the upcoming Paris Olympics and we look forward to giving our best for the country.”

For Akula, the amazing Lagos fans added colour to the tournament: “It was an amazing tournament, especially for the crowd, who were enthusiastic. They motivated me a lot, and I look forward to many WTT Tournaments in Lagos.”

Meanwhile, Germany’s Walther, India’s Sutirtha Mukherjee, Ayhika Mukherjee, Yashaswini Ghorpade as well as Women’s Singles finalist Ding Yijie of China also rose in their world rating for this week.

In an all-German finals,  Dmitrij Ovtcharov  claimed the title at the  2024 WTT Contender Lagos  by beating compatriot beating Ricardo Walther  4-1 in the Men’s Singles Final.

The Number One Seed, a favourite  with the enthusiastic Lagos fans ,  said he was happy  to have made a  return  to Nigeria to claim a well-deserved victory. 

 “I’m excited and I had a good feeling coming back to Lagos because of how well I was supported last year,” he said after his victory at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium. “I played good table tennis, dropping just two games on the way to the title.

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 “I was unwell before the match but the support from the fans was exceptional and kept me going.

 “It is really special to win in Lagos and I think of a few countries aside here like Germany my home and Russia where I used to play a lot and always feel welcomed so it is a big moment to win in Lagos,” he added.