Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are as different as chalk and cheese. They don’t have anything in common but it’s a partnership that is set to work wonders in the years to come. While Jwala is aggressive and has an intense playing style, Ashwini possesses a cool demeanour, so much so that her senior pro’s attitude goes unnoticed to her. It’s a perfect recipe to achieve glory, says Ashwini, still basking the in the glory of ‘unexpected’ gold at the Delhi Games.
“This is the most frequently asked question in the last week,” grins Ashwini, when asked about her partner’s style of playing. “She doesn’t yell at me at all. On the contrary, she is very sweet. I have benefited most from our partnership,” the 21-year-old pretty Kodava lass adds.
Ever since the Bengaluru girl shifted base to Hyderabad to forge a partnership with Jwala two years ago, Ashwini has improved by leaps and bounds. “We kind of gel well. Jwala is very aggressive and constantly pushes me to give my best, each and every point. In fact she has the quality to asses an opponent’s weak point and that did really help us win at the CWG,” says Ashwini, who won the Indian Junior Championship in 2001 and also the gold medal at the South Asian Games held in 2006.
She has also gained a lot training under national coach Pullela Gopichand and Indonesian coaches in Hyderabad, though she credits her earlier stint at the Prakash Padukone Academy for her strong basics. The pair, who are ranked No. 20 in the world, are focussing on the Asian Games to be held in the Guangzhou, China from November 12-27. And the competition is expected to be tougher as they run into second seeded Chinese Shu Cheng and Yunlei Zhao in the second round.
“I haven’t seen the draw yet. But the preparations are going to be as intense as it was for CWG. It’s really the toughest field with Chinese, Japanese and Chinese-Taipei making up the competition. “But we would likely to focus on the job at hand. Qualifying for the Olympics is also on the top of priority list,” says Ashwini, who will commence training for the Asiad from Thursday.
Though she hasn’t played singles in the last two years, Ashwini doesn’t rule out a comeback. “To be honest, I am quite a weird singles player. My movements, both back and forward, were not swift when I was playing singles. I don’t know how I would do now because I haven’t been playing singles. But I will keep my options open in the future, adds Ashwini, who was always considered a good doubles prospect during her junior days.