New Delhi, Dec. 21: India’s star shuttler Jwala Gutta, who won the gold medal along with Ashwini Ponnappa in women’s doubles badminton at the Commonwealth Games, says she deserves to be the Sportsperson Of The Year.
“Suggest my name for the sportsperson of the year,” Jwala said when asked by mediapersons who she felt should be the sportsperson of the year.
“I am serious about it. If you see the amount of hard work that I had to put in to play both the women’s doubles and the mixed doubles and then to win a gold from there I believe I deserve the accolades,” said Jwala, who had to play four matches in a day after entering the the mixed doubles and women’s doubles quarterfinals at the Commonwealth Games.
India’s top woman shuttler Saina Nehwal, who won as many as five titles this year and climbed to World No.2, and cricket veteran Sachin Tendulkar, who recently scored 50 Test centuries, would be top contenders for the award.
Jwala hailed their respective performances but said this year somebody else should be bestowed with the award. “Saina is playing well. Sachin has been performing consistently for a long time. But let this time be somebody else,” she said on the sidelines of the launch of senior national badminton championship to be held in Rohtak in January.
Jwala and her mixed doubles partner Valiyaveetil Diju, who were inside the top 10 bracket last year, slipped to 30th in world rankings after a series of uimpressive performances this year.
Jwala and Ashwini are ranked 40th in women’s doubles.