Preparing for her fourth Commonwealth Games (CWG), India women’s doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa is now a different player to the 19-year-old, who won a gold medal. historic female doubles when they debuted 12 years ago.
What remains is her thunderous smashes that continue to find their mark, her ability to read her opponent’s serves and returns, and her desire to win.
And now, after five CWG medals, including two golds, a co-World Championship bronze and two Olympic entries, the 32-year-old from Coorg is ready to make another shock at the Birmingham Olympics. , starting July 28.
“There were a lot of ups and downs during these years. I’ve changed a lot in 10 years, made great progress, have a lot of experience behind me and it feels great to be on the Commonwealth Games team again,” she said. PTI in an interview.
“I mean, looking back at 2010, it all started there and it was so new to me. Winning a gold medal is a great moment. I really want to relive that moment.”
It was with Jwala Gutta that Ashwini won India’s first women’s doubles gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, where the team also won a silver medal. Four years later, the duo took home an individual silver prize.
However, the final release on the Gold Coast is something that has a special place in her heart, as she played a key role in driving India to its first team gold.
“In 2018, Sikki and I won bronze but this is our first time winning a team gold medal, it’s a great feeling. This time the challenge is different. I’m playing mixed doubles, not mixed doubles, but I’m ready for it.”
In the last three tournaments, Ashwini went on to win medals in the women’s doubles, but this time she failed to qualify after losing the final in the selection trials, following an injury to her women’s teammate. N. Sikki Reddy.
“There was a mixed feeling, it was our 16th game and it affected a lot mentally and physically. It happened that Sikki ripped his stomach before the finals. So there are a lot of factors that keep us from playing at our best. So yeah, it’s disappointing.
“But again I’m glad that Sumeeth and I won all the games. We played three games a day. It’s not easy to stay motivated every game because we’ve played a lot of them. I was lucky to come out of the ordeal without injury.”
So how optimistic is she about winning a medal in mixed doubles?
“It will be very difficult. The teams have many pairs of men and women with good coordination. So it will be challenging but also advantageous because they don’t know how Sumeeth and I play. We started a few months back.
“So with the experience we bring, it can have the right attitude, and if we execute our game plan well, it can be deadly.”
Ashwini played an influential role in India winning their first mixed team gold medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Games alongside Satwiksairaj Rankedlydy.
However, with Satwik forming a formidable world 8 on a par with Chirag Shetty, it was hard to focus on the two events and so they decided to part ways.
“Me and Satwik had a really good run but then he wants to focus on the men’s doubles and won’t be able to compete in all events and that’s understandable. So I need someone who can play all events. So Sumeeth and I started to pair up.
“We also played about five events in 2017 but the coaches wanted me to play with Satwik and we had a great run. Sumeeth was also a fighter. He’s not someone who’s going to go out there scared. But that’s a different event, it comes every four years, so I’ll be stressing to enjoy myself and not be pressured. We have a strong team with [Kidambi] Srikanth, Lakshya [Sen]PV Sindhu and Satwik-Chirag are both in good mental space,” said Ashwini, who is currently training with Indonesian coach Kristiawan Dwi in Hyderabad.
“In a team event, anything can happen. In 2018 we beat Olympic silver medalists, while Srikanth beat Lee Chong Wei, so it’s important not to be easy, just make sure we’re on the right track.
“A team event is different from regular world tour events in that we go together because it’s all about individual performances. But in a team event, it’s about doing a lot of things together, there’s no sense of difficulty if someone has to be on the bench. ”
At 32, one can imagine that CWG 2022 could be her last but Ashwini doesn’t think too far ahead.
“I am not looking far ahead. I am taking small steps. I still hope to achieve, want something good to come to me. I know it’s going to get harder and harder, but for now, I’m just focusing on Birmingham,” she said.
