New Delhi, August 7: Twenty-six-year-old Sreeja Akula has done what no other Indian has. She became the only Indian paddler to reach the No. 22 in the world ranking, her highest career peak, following the ranking update this week by the ITTF.

Incidentally, this was notwithstanding her 2-3 loss against left-handed Romanian Elizabeta Samara when the Indian women defeated the No. 4 seed in the pre-quarterfinals of the team event a couple of days ago.

The Hyderabad paddler is the first woman to reach where G. Sathiyan had reached when she was ranked No. 24 before the Paris Games. But jumping two places ahead to be the first Indian to achieve the feat is a rarity. If she continues to play the way she has been in recent times, she should be the first to breach the top-20 mark, and if she were to do so, it could be the biggest achievement for her personally and for Indian table tennis. 

Manika Batra has moved up the ladder and is currently at No. 25.

The Indian women would clash with Germany in their quarter-final team event today in Paris.