WTT Champions Frankfurt: Sreeja, Manika lose in opening round

Indian challenge at the WTT Champions event in Frankfurt, Germany, ended on Tuesday after Sreeja Akula lost to Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz in straight games in the opening round.

World No. 15 Diaz won 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-8) against World No. 24 Sreeja in just 18 minutes.

READ | WTT Champions: Manika Batra’s campaign ends after defeat to China’s Tianyi in quarters

The 26-year-old Sreeja, who reached the round of 16 at Paris Olympics, lost to Diaz for the second tournament in a row. Diaz had won their previous contest 3-2 (6-11, 11-7, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8) at WTT Champions Montpellier.

Earlier on Sunday, Manika Batra, the other Indian in the competition, went down 3-0 (11-6, 13-11, 11-6) to South Korea’s Shin Yubin in the first round in 22 minutes. The 29-year-old Manika had reached the quarterfinals in Montpellier.

Diaz and Shin will face each other in the round of 16 on Wednesday.