Tag Archives: Ashwini Ponnappa

Preparing for third Olympics at 34, Ashwini Ponnappa in no mood to slow down

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The badminton star says that she is grateful to have an opportunity to aim for an Olympic gold at this point in her career.

Team game: Ashwini said that the partnership with Tanisha has been exciting. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Ashwini Ponnappa has been around for a long while now but the 34-year-old has no plans of slowing down. Preparing for her third Olympics in a sport as demanding as badminton can be gruelling. To do so in doubles, with a partner almost 15 years younger, is unheard of. Ashwini isn’t bothered.

Ashwini missed the Tokyo Olympics but with Tanisha Crasto, is currently the highest-ranked Indian women’s doubles pair in the world and on top of the race to the World Tour Finals.

Having burst into the limelight after winning a historic gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in front of home crowds (with Jwala Gutta) for her maiden senior international title, it’s been an eventful career for Ashwini.

“I think having the CWG in India was the biggest game-changer because there was media and public attention on all sports, not just one or two. And winning in front of the home crowd put doubles in the spotlight because till then, it used to only be about singles. People started viewing doubles as a specialised event after that,” she acknowledged.

“It’s been quite a journey, having started alongside Jwala who was already an established player then and well-known on the national and international scene as a specialised doubles player. I think I got lucky because partnering with her meant that I got to play in the big league at a very young age. I have had different partners along the way and now am with someone who is 14 years younger – I never would have thought back then that something like this would happen. But it’s been an exciting journey since we got together,” she added.

Challenges

The longevity has not been without challenges but a bout of dengue in 2016 triggered a complete turnaround in her training ethos and methods.

“Even though I have had physical ups and downs, I have always been motivated. Being physically fit is most essential to be playing at this level but being mentally motivated is equally important. You cannot have one without the other. That’s something I am very stubborn about – I will not listen to just anyone, I am very fussy about my training.

“I have been training with Deckline Leitao since 2016 and that’s been a game-changer. As you get older, your approach to physical fitness is very critical. It also means that if my coach says back off or slow down, I will listen. When you are younger, you can have the hardest workouts throughout the year. But as you get older, it is important to know when to back off and not keep pushing” she explained.

And while they are equal partners on the court, Ashwini admits it took time to build an understanding with Tanisha. “It’s definitely evolved because initially there was a barrier because of the fact that I am super senior and she is up and coming, the comfort level did take time to get to and, to be honest, there is still a lot of space for improvement but it’s work in progress. I don’t think there is any other pair with this level of age gap on the circuit.

“It’s nice to play with someone who has got a really long way ahead of her. I love her enthusiasm and the curiosity of going for big tournaments,” she admitted.

The senior pro in her does come rear up occasionally, she laughed but insisted she tries to avoid being a nag.

“I don’t think there is pressure of being a senior but I just end up being kind of a mentor. It’s not like I go out and try to be a senior or didi as Tanisha calls me – I don’t want to be – but I end up being one because of what I have seen over the years and can’t help but guide here and there when you see certain things. Fortunately, she has been open enough to listen to me giving her advice now and then,” she said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sprots / by Uthara Ganesan / April 19th, 2024

Guwahati Masters 2023: Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto clinch second Super 100 level title of the year

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Guwahati Masters 2023: Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto clinch second Super 100 level title of the year

The Indian duo defeated Chinese Taipei’s pair in straight sets

Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto clinched their second Super 100 level title of the year as they packed off Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui 21-13, 21-19 in the women’s doubles final of the Yonex-Sunrise Guwahati Masters 2023 badminton tournament here on Sunday.

The second seeded Indians, who had finished runners-up in the Syed Modi International Super 300 event last week, began the final with an aggressive intent as Tanisha prowled the net with aplomb as the local favourites took the opening game with ease.

It looked like Ashwini and Tanisha could race through the match when they opened up a 12-6 lead in the second game. But the Taipei pair clinched five straight points to close the gap to just one point and the Indians faced a few nervy moments thereafter.

To their credit, Ashwini and Tanisha did not lose patience and were prepared to wait for their opportunities. Tanisha found a winner with a smart net push to warn them a match point and the Abu Dhabi Masters champions wrapped things up on the very first opportunity.

Later speaking about the match, Ashwini admitted that the drift did affect when they tried to push the shuttle to the back court. “There were some nervous moments but it was the support of the crowd that egged up on and I am happy that we handled the pressure well.”

This is the first time an international badminton event was being held in Assam since 2007 and the fans got behind the Indian combination during the 40-minute summit clash.

The pair will now head to Bhubaneshwar for the Odisha Masters, hoping to consolidate their position in the world ranking with another strong showing to end the year on a high.

In the other matches, Thailand’s Lalinrat Chaiwan and Indonesia’s Yohanes Saut Marcellyno bagged the women’s and men’s singles crowns.

Chaiwan upset fourth seed Line Christophersen of Denmark 21-14, 17-21, 21-16 in the women’s singles final before Marcellyno got the better of teammate Alvi Wijaya Chairullah 21-12, 21-17 in the men’s singles summit clash.

Second seeds Hee Yong Kai Terry and Tan Wei Han Jessica of Singapore clinched the mixed doubles title with a 21-19, 21-11 win over Mads Vestergaad and Christine Busch of Denmark while Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal of Malaysia bagged the men’s doubles crown with a 21-17, 23-21 win over Chinese Taipei’s Lin Bing-Wei and Su Ching Heng.

source: http://www.khelnow.com / KhelNow / Home> Badminton / by KhelNow / December 11th, 2023

Ashwini-Tanisha climb four spots to world no. 28

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The duo earlier won the Nates International Challenge and Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100. Ashwini, 36, and her 20-year-old partner Tanisha, who started playing together only in January this year, finished runners-up at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament in Lucknow on Sunday.

Ashwini-Tanisha climb four spots to world no. 28
India’s women’s doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa (Pic: File Pic)

Indian women’s doubles pair, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, jumped four places to reach world number 28 in the latest BWF rankings.

Ashwini, 36, and her 20-year-old partner Tanisha, who started playing together only in January this year, finished runners-up at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament in Lucknow on Sunday.

The duo earlier won the Nates International Challenge and Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100.

Priyanshu Rajawat, who had reached the semi-finals in men’s singles, also gained a place to break into the top-30.


All other Indian singles players stayed static with HS Prannoy (8) remaining the top ranked shuttler from the country, followed by PV SIndhu (12), Lakshya Sen (17) and Kidambi Srikanth (24).

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty occupied the world number 2 spot, while Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand stayed at 19th position.

source: http://www.mid-day.com / Mid-Day / Home> Sports News> Other Sports News> Article / by PTI / December 05th, 2023

‘Mentor’ Ashwini Ponnappa finds solace in fresh challenges

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Ashwini Ponnappa, who has achieved many firsts for Indian badminton, is drawing new energy from her 20-year-old partner Tanisha Crasto. But the 33-year-old says her biggest challenge is to stay motivated.

Mentor Ashwini Ponnappa finds solace in fresh challenges
Ashwini Ponnappa poses for a photo among shuttles at a badminton court. (Photo credit: Ashwini Ponnappa/Instagram)

Ashwini Ponnappa is unbothered about her age. An average female shuttler retires at 28, but Ashwini, even at 33, does not see any reason for slowing down. She does not let the thought of retirement sneak into her mind either. Having recently taken up the fresh challenge of playing two intense and physically demanding disciplines – women’s and mixed doubles – instead of one, Ashwini says she ‘finds solace’ in distributing her priorities. “It is not easy to play two events, but it is something that I want to do at this point, I kind of find solace in playing two events rather than one,” Ashwini told The Bridge.

Ashwini broke her long-standing and rather futile partnership with N. Sikki Reddy last year, following her highly successful one with Jwala Gutta which ended in 2016. She tried her hands at pottery and commentary before embarking on a fresh challenge by pairing up with Tanisha Crasto, 13 years younger than her. To put the matter into perspective, when Ashiwni had won her first title – the national sub-junior girls’ doubles gold in 2004 – Tanisha had been in her nappies.

A partner in the mould of a mentor

Ashwin admitted that the trickiest thing for her now is to stay motivated. But Tanisha’s exuberant presence is not allowing her to lag behind. “As you get older, things get tricker. When you are young, you have time on your side, enthusiasm. For me, the challenge right now is to look after my body and keep my mind fresh. And to keep going, keep pushing and keep having that belief and hope that ‘yes, you are going to get that result, again’,” Ashwini said. “It’s tricky, especially when it comes to getting to the stadium and training every single day. The glimmer of hope is that I always believe something good is going to come my way. And starting over with a young partner is a motivating,” she stated.

Being a senior player, Ashwini is more than just a partner in this new partnership. “I love the energy and enthusiasm that she (Tanisha) brings in to the court. Partnering with her is quite fun, because she always wants to do well. And she is very gritty on court. Our age gap does not matter on court. Of course, since I have played for such a long time, I tend to be more like a mentor,” she said. But Ashwini ruled out having any seniority complex. “But having said that, when you are on board, you cannot have a seniority complex. At the end of the day, you are in a partnership irrespective of how big the age gap is,” added the shuttler.

Even though the Ashwini-Tanisha partnership is at a nascent stage now, the combination has started clicking. They claimed their first International Challenge title in Nantes, France, in June. They were also part of India’s mixed team silver medal-winning squad at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Ranked 56th in the world, Ashwini-Tanisha is the second-choice women’s doubles pair for India after Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand. The pair will next be seen in action at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September. However, Ashwini is no longer in the reckoning for the Olympics or BWF World Championships, as she has slipped out of the top 32. “We just started playing in January. Unfortunately, we have not played too many tournaments. But I am very happy with the fact that we won the Nantes International Challenge. We are just getting started, we have a long way to go,” Ashwini asserted.

Juggling between challenges Her women’s doubles career is already legendary, but Ashwini’s transition to mixed doubles has always been challenging. “Switching to mixed doubles has always been a challenge. It is easier to have a woman on your side and also one at the back of the court. I have been a women’s doubles specialist in my career so far. I have always been known as a player who is predominantly at the back of the court rather than front,” explained Ashwini. “The most obvious difference is that in mixed doubles, you always find the girl at the net,” she said.

But, Ashwini, like always, is not willing to give up. “I think I have adapted over the years, which also requires me to move into the net. It’s not natural for me, but I have learnt to make the transition to the back of the court,” she said about the challenge of playing mixed doubles. This challenge is precisely the reason her partnership with B. Sumeeth Reddy has not taken off yet. In the mixed-gender event, they are ranked 64th and are yet to taste success. This is the latest of Ashwini’s many attempts to make her mixed doubles career fly. She had previously paired up with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, to whom she attributed the speed and power of her smash. But that partnership was severed soon as Satwik specialised in men’s doubles and gave up on mixed doubles.

As she is ranked outside the top rung, Ashwini is no longer a sure shot on the World Tour; she features regularly in the qualifiers. This makes her newest journey more strenuous, as she has had to juggle between smaller tournaments for ranking points, where she often plays too many matches in a day. “If I am playing the bigger tournaments, it is not much of an issue because there is enough time. But if I am playing the smaller tournaments, which we have to since we do not really have a good ranking, there are times when you could end up playing three to four matches in a day,” said Ashwini.

Pride of Indian women’s doubles

Ashwini has been a trailblazer in Indian women’s doubles along with Jwala. The duo achieved many firsts for Indian doubles, by winning Commonwealth Games gold and BWF World Championships bronze. In fact, for 11 years, Ashwini and Jwala were India’s only doubles pair to win a medal at the Worlds before Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty – pioneers in men’s doubles – matched their feat in 2022 in Tokyo.

strip

“We were the first to win the bronze medal at the World Championships. And we were the first ones to win a bronze medal overall in 28 years. It was a very special moment for us. The best part for me was that we enjoyed the entire tournament. The icing on the cake was the bronze medal,” Ashwini said.

Ashwini welcomes changes in women’s doubles

Though she finds herself out of favour in the Indian badminton contingent in top-notch events, the seasoned star is delighted with the changes in Indian women’s doubles, which has emerged from an earlier archaic philosophy to become an attractive discipline for youngsters.

“When I started, I did not want to play doubles. I was more interested in women’s singles. I was asked to choose it. But over the years, I have proved myself as a women’s doubles specialist,” said Ashwini.

She welcomes the recent trend where more players are taking up the discipline and sponsors are supporting their bids. India now has two women’s doubles pairings in the top 50. There are five more in the top 100, including Ashwini-Tanisha at 56.

“It has evolved quite a bit in the last decade, especially the last few years. Especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. Youngsters are being pushed towards doubles and sponsors are supporting them. In the past, only one or two pairs were sent and not a lot of pairs went on their own. This has changed drastically,” observed Ashwini.

However, Ashwini finds the latest BWF World Tour hectic, where shuttlers are forced to compete for ranking and Olympic qualification points round the year.

“It gets really overwhelming at times. It is hard to find the right gap for a break. It would be nice if we have a streamlined year, where we would also get an off season. But I would say the sport is growing the way it should grow. There’s always good and bad, it depends on how you look at it,” opined Ashwini.

source: http://www.thebridge.in / The Bridge / Home> Badminton / by Sudipta Biswas / August 27th, 2023


Sprinting to Success: Prolific Badminton duo Ashwini and Tanisha reach new heights in BWF Rankings

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Badminton - Commonwealth Games Day 10
Badminton – Commonwealth Games Day 10

Indian Badminton Doubles Players, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto have achieved their career-best rankings in BWF Rankings. In the recent update by the BWF, the duo successfully climbed up one place to reach 60th rank. This is the highest they have achieved in their entire career.

The pair recently won the Nantes International Challenge title by defeating the prolific duo of Hung En-Tzu and Lin Yu-Pei of Chinese Taipei. The event took place at the Salle Metropolitana de la Trocardaiare, Paris. Ashwini is a Commonwealth gold medallist and a world-class player with many titles under her belt.

Meanwhile, Tanisha has astoundingly proven herself. She paved her way through the domestic circuit and has shown his talent alongside experienced players. Both of them have performed exceptionally well in the recent past and are willing to stick with the winning ways.

Ashwini attained the highest-ever ranking of 10 in women’s double alongside Jwala Gutta in 2015. While Tanisha had the highest rank of 115 with Shruti Mishra. This duo has come a long way to achieve this feat in the BWF Rankings update. They display the depth in the Indian Badminton pool and the nurturing of this depth.

Other Indian Players to Gain in Recent BWF Rankings

Apart from these two, Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker moved up to 64th rank. Swetaparna Panda and Rutaparna Panda advanced to 66, while the Palak-Unnati pair moved to the 90th position. All of these Ranks were achieved in the Women’s Doubles category.

In the Men’s Single category, Kiran George moved up three places to achieve the 53rd position. While in the Men’s Doubles category, P.S.Ravikrishna and S.Sankar climbed up four places to grab the 70th ranking. The pair of Achutaditya-Venkata Harsha also made meager progress by moving to 80th place in the rankings.

These are some major updates from the BWF Rankings update in July 2023 and the players would be motivated to further progress in the same manner.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda / Home> Badminton / by SportzConnect / edited by Yash Singh / July 05th, 2023

Badminton: Ashwini Ponnappa interview – ‘I’m starting from scratch, ground zero’

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Ponnappa, 33-year-old former World Championship bronze medallist, has formed a new partnership in women’s doubles with 19-year-old Tanisha Crasto.

Ashwini Ponnappa along with her new partner Tanisha Crasto in Pune | Senior Badminton National Championships

Through the course of her career, Ashwini Ponnappa has been part of many firsts in women’s doubles for Indian badminton. Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta, became the first Indian women to win a badminton BWF World Championship medal (bronze in 2011). She has won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and also the women’s team bronze medal at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014. She has been part of Uber Cup bronze medal-winning squads.

But now the 33-year-old, a veteran of the sport in India, finds herself in the nascent stage of a women’s doubles partnership. In December, she made the decision to pair up with 19-year-old Tanisha Crasto for women’s doubles.

The change sees the once world No 10 women’s doubles player now find herself ranked 141 as a pair with Crasto, albeit they’ve played just two international competitions together – a quarterfinal finish at the Super 500 event in Indonesia in January, followed by a first round exit at the Thailand Open Super 300.

A third event was the quarterfinal finish at the 84th Senior National Championships, at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Sunday as they put up a good fight before losing against the in-form top-seed pairing of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly.

It’s a long way back to the top, but in an interview with Scroll in Pune she asserted she’s looking forward to climbing back up the ladder, while also exploring a new role in commentary.

Excerpts from the interview:

How has the new partnership been working for you?

It’s good. Tanisha is young, she’s very energetic. It’s nice to play with that energy. We haven’t really had many tournaments together, we’ve played two and this is the third. But I’m excited to be here at the Nationals, it’s been a while since I played at this competition.

Earlier you had Jwala Gutta as a partner who was senior to you, then N Sikki Reddy who was not much dissimilar in terms of age. Now you have a partner who is 19. Are you also playing the role of mentor?

You could say that. I would say there’s a vast difference from when I started playing with Jwala to the youngsters now. They’ve all been playing international tournaments from when they were 17 or 18. They’ve all been there, done that. The doubles game has changed and the approach has changed. There’s not a lot of mentoring, she is good in mixed doubles and she’s done well there. Women’s doubles is a little different, but it’s good to have someone who moves into the net. She has that energy and speed on the court.

With age have you changed your approach to the game?

Of course. It’s inevitable for that to happen. I can’t be compared to a 19-year-old in terms of fitness and energy on court. I definitely have to be smarter on court towards the game in order to make sure that I can physically take the toll that badminton has on the body. I have to be very mindful of my training and how I approach the game.

Is it about the warmups and cooldowns getting longer now for you?

Yeah. Probably. But I’ve always been someone who had a longer duration for warmup. But cooldown definitely still needs to get better.

Recently we saw a different side to you – as a commentator. How was that experience?

I happened to be at the tournament and they asked me if I’d like to give it a shot. I felt no harm in doing that, although I feel that it’s not my cup of tea in terms of how I speak. I’d love to get better at it.

But I loved the experience. It was fun being on the other side of the TV. Watching players play you see things differently. You see patterns which you otherwise don’t look out for unless you’re getting ready for a match. That was interesting for me.

I sat for five matches during the Thailand Open, it was interesting for me to watch patterns match out of match. Like if one side was slower or faster, how players dealt with it. You understand that the player who is actually smarter on that day in dealing with the conditions has the upper hand. So that was very interesting that way.

Do you feel there were more expectations when you’re in the commentary box? Since people know here’s someone who has played at the highest level, is there an expectation for some insight which you’d not get otherwise?

Yeah, I am supposed to be the expert. The colour commentary part of it. It does get tricky because, that’s what I meant that it’s not my cup of tea. Not in a bad way, but being articulate about what I see, I’m not a journalist, I’m don’t have the lingo for it. So sometimes I feel, ‘what am I saying?’ Sometimes it’s so repetitive. But it was nice. Although I was a bit nervous, it was an enjoyable experience.

Is that something you’re looking to pursue later on?

Maybe later. Honestly, I don’t know. Right now, I’m definitely focusing on the game. But if I get these opportunities in between to commentate, I’ll definitely give it a shot.

What are the kind of things you and Tanisha have to do off-court just to get the chemistry going to gel on-court? And what are the targets?

This was our third tournament together. We’ve sent out entries for tournaments where we haven’t got an entry. But Tanisha will be playing in mixed doubles (with Ishaan Bhatnagar) in those tournaments. We haven’t had so much time in general to build the partnership because it is brand new, we just started. There’s still a long way to go, we still need that bonding time.

Is that, perhaps the target?

I would say the first target is to get an entry.

You mentioned the doubles game has changed. How?

Over the years the whole approach has changed. When Jwala and I were playing, we were kind of like the path-breakers in a way for doubles. There wasn’t a lot before us. Nobody we could look up to, nobody who had ever won. We had a lot of firsts together. But the game-changer has been that youngsters have been given a lot of exposure to tournaments. They’ve been playing tournaments since they are 17 – that was unheard of back then. We didn’t even have those tournaments in India.

Right now we have four international tournaments in India. You’re giving youngsters an opportunity to get that hunger at a very young age because you’re giving them a taste of what international badminton is. Also, everyone is going out, everyone is sponsored. That’s changed.

That’s why you see a lot of youngsters playing and taking it up. Otherwise, our generation, people in the past, they trained a lot, but never played tournaments. I wouldn’t say you didn’t have that talent back then, you just didn’t know. They were just training, they didn’t have the exposure, no push to go out. That has changed, and that’s why we see a rise in a lot of doubles players playing and doing well.

It’s because they’ve been pushed from a young age, getting out to participate, get that exposure, start training at a young age. These girls are 19. At that time, at 19, nobody was really encouraged to go out.

Yet you’ve remained relevant throughout this. What’s been the changes you’ve had to make in the way you approach the game to continue playing at the highest level?

I would say, I still need to get to the top. I have, in the past. But currently I’m starting from scratch. Ground zero. It’s challenging because you’ve been there and you’re coming back all the way down. It’s a reset.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Badminton / by Shahid Judge / February 27th, 2023

IOS signs Indian star of doubles badminton: Ashwini Ponnappa

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Leading sports management firm, IOS Sports & Entertainment announced the signing of Arjuna Awardee Ashwini Ponnappa, the sensational doubles and mixed doubles badminton player of India.

Ashwini Ponnappa became a household name for Indians after winning a gold and silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the Women Doubles and Mixed Doubles category respectively and another gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast in the Mixed Team Event. She also played an important role in winning a silver medal for the Mixed team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Birmingham. Other victories of Ashwini Ponnappa include a bronze medal in women’s doubles at the Badminton World Championship in 2011 and 2018 Commonwealth at Gold Coast and a series of gold and silver medals at the South Asian Games and Asian Championships.

“As a professional badminton player, you always look forward to new and unique opportunities, challenges and goals to achieve and excel as a person and as a player in the process. I am truly honored to be able to represent my country for so many years now and I look forward to winning more medals for India at major events particularly with the Asian Games and qualifications for Paris 2024 Games coming up. That being as said, we all need support to manage our off-the-field opportunities and I am delighted & excited to be welcomed by Team IOS Sports and Entertainment. They have a proven and long-standing history of working with athletes from other major Olympic and Paralympic disciplines along with my fellow shuttlers.” said Ashwini on her signing on with IOS Sports & Entertainment.

Ashwini, who is currently World Rank 23 (in Women Doubles) has been a doubles player ever since her professional journey started. Her first victory at the national level came at the 2004 National Championship in the Sub-Junior Girls Doubles category. A year later, at the 2005 National Championship, she retained her title and in 2006, she got a taste of victory by clinching a Gold at the South Asian Games in the Women Doubles event.

“It’s very exciting to have one of the best doubles badminton players of India onboard with us. Ashiwni’s role in showcasing Indian women’s doubles badminton’s prowess in world badminton cannot be missed and we are looking forward to having Ashwini as a part of IOS and wish her all the luck.” said Neerav Tomar, Managing Director, IOS and Entertainment.

IOS Sports has so far managed and worked with more than 100 Indian sports stars, including the likes of Suresh Raina, MC Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal, Sandeep Singh, Hima Das and now they’re all set to add another name in this list as Ashwini Ponnappa. 

source: http://www.adgully.com / Adgully / Home> Marketing / by Adgully Bureau / November 16th, 2022

Women’s badminton in India still has a long way to go: Ashwini Ponnappa

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The ace shuttler opens up on her career, India’s position in badminton and Red Bull Shuttle Up

Ashwini Ponnappa has regularly been one of India’s highest-ranked women’s doubles players over the last decade Red Bull Shuttle Up

For more than a decade, Ashwini Ponnappa has been the gold standard when it comes to women’s doubles in Indian badminton. Whether as one half of a record-breaking pair with Jwala Gutta or later on with N. Sikki Reddy, Ashwini has endured as a beacon of consistency in a format that often gets overshadowed by the superstar culture around singles players.

In the midst of the fourth edition of Red Bull Shuttle Up, India’s first-ever exclusive women’s doubles badminton competition, Ashwini, who is also the face of the tournament, spoke to My Kolkata about her career, the disparity between men’s and women’s badminton in India, how Red Bull’s initiative is making a difference in women’s doubles and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.

My Kolkata: When did you realise that you wanted to take up badminton professionally and what made you opt for doubles?

Ashwini Ponnappa: I got into badminton because of my parents. I was too young to make a decision myself, so my parents were the ones who helped me get into the sport. Ever since I started playing badminton as a kid, I haven’t played any other sport seriously. Growing up, I had a coach who was very strict and firm about the basics of the game. When I won my first national title in the sub-junior girls’ doubles category, I realised that I really want to take up badminton professionally. Once again, my parents’ support was crucial in making that decision. As for why doubles over singles, I’ve always done better in doubles and won more titles there. So, it was quite a simple choice for me.

Doubles is much faster and requires more smashing and forearm strength as well as better reflexes

Ashwini initially trained as a singles player for several years before switching to doubles
Red Bull Shuttle Up

What are the most challenging aspects of playing doubles and how should one prepare separately for those challenges?

When I started playing doubles, most of us, especially the women, were singles players. We hardly had a specialised focus on doubles in India. Even when I trained at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru, all the kids wanted to be singles players. Apart from Jwala (Gutta) and Shruti (Kurien), there were no other established female doubles players to look up to either. It was only in the junior category competitions that I was first part of doubles camps. Switching from singles training to doubles was quite difficult, as doubles is much faster and requires a lot more smashing and forearm strength as well as better reflexes. When you have two people on court on the same side, it’s not just about yourself. There’s a lot of coordination that goes into it, which is the most challenging aspect. You could be a great player by yourself, but if you can’t coordinate, you won’t succeed in doubles.

Jwala and I had a natural understanding of what the other person would do on court

Ashwini and Jwala Gutta are widely regarded as the best women’s doubles pair in Indian badminton history / BAI

What did you enjoy most about teaming up with Jwala Gutta for so many tournaments? What do you think set the two of you apart?

When I started playing with Jwala, I was a junior with little to no experience and she was already an established senior. She took a chance by deciding to play with me and I managed to rise to the occasion. Being able to match up to her standards was important and I’m glad I could do that. What made our partnership special and successful was the fact that our styles matched a lot, so we had a natural understanding of what the other person would do on court. We didn’t communicate a lot when we were playing, but managed to sync quite easily. At that point, we were also quite close off the court and she was extremely supportive, which made our team even more formidable.

Ashwini and Jwala with their gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
BAI

Was winning the gold medal at home in the 2010 Commonwealth Games (with Jwala) the proudest moment of your career or would you prefer your bronze medal at the BWF World Championships (also with Jwala) in 2011? Or something else altogether?

I’ll have to go with both, the Commonwealth medal as well as the World Championships one. Nobody had achieved either feat before. But more than anything else, what makes these two achievements among my favourites is that I had a great time while I played those tournaments. Often people go through a lot and sacrifice a lot to win, but don’t enjoy the process. I was lucky in that I had a blast while having my proudest moments on court.

The system at the 2012 Olympics was flawed

Do you have any regrets from your career so far, especially in relation to the Olympic Games?

The 2012 Olympics would definitely remain a regret. Given what happened (Japan had shockingly lost to Chinese Taipei in what was seen by many to be a deliberate defeat or an instance of “throwing a match” to secure an easier opponent in the next round, which, incidentally, also led to India’s elimination), it was disheartening, because we had played very well. Looking back, I think the system was flawed, they shouldn’t have let players know who was going to play whom in the next rounds. A month before the next Olympics in 2016, I had had a horrible bout of dengue. As a result, I wasn’t able to smash as hard and that had an impact on the result, which was also quite disappointing.

Red Bull Shuttle Up is trying to make badminton more inclusive

Ashwini has been pushing for greater focus on women’s doubles as the face of Red Bull Shuttle Up /Reb Bull Shuttle Up

Coming to Red Bull Shuttle Up, Simran Sanghi (a previous winner of the tournament) said that it’s “the perfect example of empowered brands empowering women… proving that women are the real matadors of society”. What do you make of Red Bull Shuttle Up and how it has been making a difference to women’s doubles?

The most important thing about Red Bull Shuttle Up is that it gives women’s doubles players an opportunity and a platform that belongs solely to them. This is really important because in India we have leagues that don’t even have the women’s doubles format, which seems unbelievable to me. That’s where Red Bull Shuttle Up is trying to make badminton more inclusive. The second aspect is about having fun. I’ve always believed that you play sport because you want to have fun and that’s something that Red Bull Shuttle Up manages to provide in ample doses.

We don’t see the sheer number of quality players in women’s badminton as we do in the men’s game

Ashwini believes that there is a big gap between Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu and the rest of the field in women’s badminton /BAI

Looking at the larger picture, where does India stand as a force in badminton today? Are we a global power or are we still in the process of getting there?

The fact that we won the Thomas Cup in May speaks volumes about the strength in depth when it comes to men’s badminton. Beating powerhouses in international badminton like we did in the Thomas Cup is no joke. In that sense, we’re definitely a global power among the men. On the other hand, the women’s game still has a long way to go. We don’t see the sheer number of quality players in women’s badminton as we do in the men’s game, especially when it comes to doubles. Even if you take singles, there’s quite a bit of a gap between P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal at the top and the rest of the field. There are a fair few young singles players who are doing well, but it’ll take them years to get to the levels of Sindhu or Saina. Coming back to the doubles, it’s the same problem I stated earlier. How can you expect doubles players to give you points in big tournaments when you don’t include women’s doubles as part of your domestic leagues? When it comes to women’s badminton, it’s not that we don’t have talent, but the talent that’s there isn’t being nurtured the right way.

Switching tracks, how do you relax and zone out? What are your hobbies and interests outside badminton?

Of late, I’ve enjoyed just chilling and watching dramas. I watch any and every kind, including Anime. I also watch a lot of YouTube content, especially motivational talks and conversations that pique my interest in general.

My most important goal is working on myself

Ashwini feels that she still has a lot of goals and dreams left to realise
Red Bull Shuttle Up

What are the dreams and goals you are still chasing as an athlete? 

I’ve still got a lot of dreams and goals, which is why I’m still playing! I feel like I’ve spoken a lot about them in the past and at the moment, I’d rather talk about my most important goal, which is working on myself. I’m trying to take a different approach with my holistic development on and off the court, and if that goes fine, the rest of the goals should fall into place.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / TelegraphIndia Online / Home> My Kolkata> People> Badminton / by Priyam Marik / October 17th, 2022

BAI website gives Jwala-Ponnappa WC bronze a miss

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Badminton fans in the country cannot stop raving about the exploits of doubles stars Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, who created history last Sunday by winning a medal in the World Badminton championship after a gap of 28 years. While the two girls made news across the country, it seems the Badminton Association of India (BAI), or more precisely their official website, is completely unaware of their heroics.

Even after a week, the official website is completely oblivious to the performance of the Indian contingent in London and is more bothered about publishing the internal circulars and other mundane stuff like appointment of technical officials and other committees.

The attitude of those maintaining the website is no different from the overall approach of the sports administrators, who are happy holding on to their chairs rather than looking to be proactive to popularise the game.

Shuttlers Jwala Gutta (foreground) and Ashwini Ponnappa created history last Sunday by winning a medal in the World Championship after a gap of 28 years. Reuters

 

The last few years have been the best period for Indian badminton since the Prakash Padukone era. In fact, I would say the situation is even better than the 70s and 80s when Padukone was the lone flag-bearer of the country on the international stage. Today, there are many players who have been performing consistently at the highest level and there are at least three disciplines in which India can aim to win medals in major international tournaments.

Such a situation should be an open invitation for any sports administrator to try and popularise the sport and what can be a better way than to build the marketing strategy around the players, whom the fans and even the corporate world can relate to.

And the officials need not look beyond their very own Saina Nehwal, who has become a household name once she signed up with a sports management firm and the company began building her image around the “I will do anything to succeed” attitude.

Thankfully, almost all the top players in the country are very articulate and can connect to the masses very easily. But somehow, the ‘shuttler’ seems to be the least important entity in the badminton set-up in India and the badminton activities that are organised during a season are more out of compulsion than with a long-term plan for the benefit of the players.

The last concrete step for the development of sport was taken back in 2000, under the leadership of Padukone, when the prize money structure was introduced in the domestic circuit and a national ranking system put in place.

The BAI honchos made us believe that their endeavour to host major international events in the country since 2009 was an attempt to provide the players an opportunity to grow. But instead, in the first two years, they put restrictions on Indians participating in these tournaments under the pretext that “the image of the country” will be tarnished if players lost in the initial rounds.

Even after the Commonwealth Games, where India won two gold medals and a team silver, the association members indulged in the capital instead of arranging an event or a sponsorship deal as a token of appreciation for the players.

But what can one expect from an association which has still not bothered to put in place a basic mechanism of providing the media with the results of domestic and international tournaments, which is very important to keep the sport and sportsperson in public memory.

In these circumstances, expecting the association to promote the cause of players by building an interface between fans and sportspersons seems to be a distant dream. But the very least a player can expect is a mention of his/her achievement on the website and a word of appreciation from those running the sport.

source: http://www.FirstPost.com / blog > shuttle talk> / Aug 22nd, 2011