Women’s doubles badminton, according to Ashwini Ponnappa

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Ashwini Ponnappa is a well-known name in women’s doubles badminton in India. Having paired with Jwala Gutta and N. Sikki Reddy, she has consistently remained in top form through a decade in a sport that has often been overshadowed by singles events.

Ponnappa was introduced to badminton by her parents, who also supported her decision to pursue it professionally, while her coach in the initial years enforced strict standards that laid a strong foundation for her future career in the sport.

According the shuttler, she faced initial hurdles during her training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore, where most students and the training itself was geared towards singles events. However, Ponappa had always performed better in doubles events and remained determined to excel. With inspiration from the few well-known doubles players at the time, including Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien, Ponnappa was able to master the smashing, forearm and reflexive skills that set doubles badminton apart.

Ponnappa also attributes her successful partnership with Jwala Gutta to the similar style of play, which enhanced the understanding between the two and made on-court communication easier. As a senior player, Gutta also provided support and motivation and the gold medal won by the duo at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, and the bronze medal won at the BWF World Championships remains the highlight of Ponnappa’s career.

She also has a fair share of regrets including her performance at the 2021 Olympics, where faulty planning had allowed teams to know who they would play beforehand, which coupled with her recovery from dengue affected India’s performance. However, she is hopeful about the Red Bull Shuttle Up initiative which is exclusively dedicated to women’s doubles badminton, and which she is the face of.

She also believes that women’s badminton needs to catch up to men’s badminton in India which recently saw them achive victory at the Thomas Cup. According to her, while women’s singles badminton has a lack of top-quality talent beyond Nehwal and Sindhu, women’s doubles is even further behind due to a lack of events. For now,Ponnappa is focused on bettering herself holistically, with the hope that it improves her game as well.