It was dual success for India’s Sreeja Akula who clinched the women’s singles and doubles titles at the WTT Contender Lagos in Nigeria on Sunday. This made Akula the first Indian paddler to win a WTT Contender singles title.

Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar also won the men’s doubles title, with Archana Kamath partnering Akula in the women’s doubles triumph.

In the singles final, Akula beat China’s Ding Yijie 4-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6) to seal the title. Earlier in the semi-finals, Ding had seen off Akula’s compatriot Ayhika Mukherjee 3-2, while Akula beat Sutirtha Mukherjee 3-2.

Sutirtha Mukherjee had reached the semi-finals after beaing world No 8 Shin Yubin of South Korea 3-0 in the quarter-finals.

Also read: How Sreeja Akula evolved from being a silent paddler to earn a spot in the Olympics

In the women’s doubles final, Akula and Kamath combined to beat Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 12-10). The title-winning duo earlier also beat Ayhika Mukherjee-Sutirtha Mukherjee pairing 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 12-10).

Desai and Thakkar overcame their Nigerian opponents Azeez Solanke and Olajide Omotayo 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-8) to clinch the title in dominant fashion.

In the men’s singles event, both Thakkar and Achanta Sharath Kamal exited the tournament in the quarter-finals.

In the mixed doubles event, Chitale had partnered along with Manush Shah to reach the semi-finals where they lost 1-3 to the Chinese pairing of Luo Jiecheng and Xu Huiyao. Thakkar and Kamath had also reached the semi-finals where they lost to eventual winners Shin and Lim Jonghoon of South Korea.