Ovtcharov, Akula 2024 WTT Contender Lagos Singles Winners

Dimitrij Ovtcharov, former Table Tennis world number one, and India’s Sreeja Akula captured the 2024 WTT Contender Lagos singles titles at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The final day of the tournament witnessed a day of thrilling table tennis as champions were crowned in the Women’s Singles, Men’s Singles, Women’s Doubles, and Men’s Doubles categories at WTT Contender Lagos 2024.

Ovtcharov dominated compatriot Ricardo Walther 4-1 (11-7, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6) to claim his second WTT Series singles title and his first in Lagos.

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Determined to reclaim his WTT Series singles title, Ovtcharov, a 2023 finalist, entered the competition hungry for victory.

While, In the Women’s Singles final, Akula and China’s Ding Yijie met in their first WTT Series singles final. Both players were making their debut in a WTT Series singles final.

Akula, with two WTT Feeder Series titles to her name, and Ding, a rising star with four WTT Youth Series titles, battled fiercely for the champion title.

Akula’s remarkable journey to the final saw her save three match points in the semifinals, demonstrating her resilience and determination.

Ding, making her WTT Series debut, aimed to become the lowest-ranked player to win a WTT Series Women’s Singles title.

However, Akula won 4-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6) , dominating the match after her Women’s Doubles win on Sunday.

While, the Women’s Doubles final, the Indian duo of Sreeja Akula and Archana Girish Kamath battled their compatriots Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Parag Chitale in the Women’s Doubles final. Both pairs displayed exceptional teamwork and skill, but Akula and Kamath emerged victorious in straight sets (11-9, 11-6, 12-10) in their first international final together.

The Men’s Doubles final saw a battle between the Nigerian pair of Azeez Solanke and Olajide Omotayo and the Indian duo of Harmeet Desai and Manav Vikash Thakkar.

Solanke and Omotayo, in their second international outing together, faced a seasoned Desai and Thakkar duo, who’ve been partners since 2016.

Desai and Thakkar came out on top with a 3-0 win (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) marking their first Men’s Doubles title as a duo.

In the Mixed Doubles final on Saturday, 2023 singles champion, Shin Yubin and Lim Jonghoon of Korea Republic defeated Xu Huiyao and Luo Jiecheng of China 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-4).

The event featured 32-draw Men’s and Women’s Singles, 16-draw Men’s and Women’s Doubles, and 16-draw Mixed Doubles, all vying for a share of the $80,000 prize pool and ITTF World Ranking points.