Glasgow 2014 was shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa’s second appearance at the Commonwealth Games. And the girl from Bengaluru was “satisfied” with her performance if not overwhelmed, after taking her second medal in as many Games.
Ashwini and Jwala Gutta, the 2010 CWG gold medallists, settled for silver in the women’s doubles after going down 17-21, 21-23 against world no. 18 Malaysian combo of Vivian Kah Mun Hoo and Khe Wei Woon in the final.
But Ashwini said the best was yet to come from the pair.
“Me and Jwala are getting better and better with each tournament. These Games have given us the motivation and belief that we are in the right direction, that we are getting close to what we are striving for,” she said.
Talking of their mistakes during the title clash, Ashwini said that she needed to work on the mental aspect and her shot selection in high pressure situations
“We have now learnt our lessons from these Games. Personally I think, my strokes weren’t smart. Also, I have to be calmer. I was expecting too much from myself during the final, so at some point I got irritated. I need to avoid those situations,” she pointed out.
Jwala and Ashwini re-united last October, and since then they picked up the senior nationals title in December before bagging the bronze at the Asian Badminton Championship in April this year.
Asked if she was satisfied with their show at Glasgow, Ashwini said, “Yes, you can say that.
“I am happy to get a medal. We went into the Games targetting the gold. But I don’t think we played to our capabilities in the final. Still, it’s always a good feeling to win a medal.”
The Commonwealth gold has been missed, but the year still has a couple of major tournaments left and Ashwini said she hardly has any time to celebrate her medal. “We are targetting one tournament at a time. Next is the World Championships, and we want to do well there,” she said.
“There is no time to relax, so I am starting my training with Tom John sir. Jwala will be training with S.M. Arif sir. I will join her in Hyderabad after a couple of weeks,” said Ashwini.
source: http://www.asianage.com / The Asian Age / Home> Sports> Other Sports / by Priyanka Sharma / August 07th, 2014
