Double threat
India’s first ever women’s doubles badminton gold at the Commonwealth Games (at New Delhi in 2010), India’s first World Championship medal in 20 years (At Birmingham in 2011) and now, the first ever Indian to ever feature in two badminton events at the Olympics — Jwala Gutta certainly seems to have a penchant for carving out a slice of history for herself and she has a willing partner in the form of Ashwini Ponnappa.
With the London Games set to kick start on Friday, the duo are ready to give it their all to own yet another piece of badminton history. “We haven’t really set ourselves any goal, really,” says Ashwini, however. “At the moment, the very fact that we would be playing at the Olympics is overwhelming. That said, it would be awesome if we do go on to achieve something.” she added.
“It’s a dream come true, everyone — my family, friends and well-wishers — had hoped for such a day ever since I started playing badminton,” said Jwala, who would be playing with V. Diju in the mixed doubles event, apart from her women’s doubles campaign alongside Ashwini.
The feisty shuttler from Hyderabad is confident of putting up a good show at London. The reason, she says, is her fearless attitude. “I don’t play any match with any expectations. I would obviously like to win, but I’m also not afraid of losing and I think that is what would help me at the Olympics,” Jwala added.
Ashwini concurred. “We always take it one match at a time and we ensure we maintain level heads regardless of the result. Jwala really helps me maintain focus,” she said. Being the senior among her partners, Jwala is expectedly the natural leader in both the teams, but she refuses to buy into that idea. “I’ve registered some fantastic wins with both Ashwini and Diju. While I do think I’m mentally stronger than my partners, that does not mean they don’t play an equal part in our achievements. The victories would not have been achieved without them. I have mental strength while each of them has their own merits,” she added.
As for the kind of opposition they might expect, Jwala is not too worried. “I never go into any competition worrying about my opponents. I prepare to the best of my ability.” Jwala has already made history, and that should provide the requisite inspiration for her, and as a consequence, her partners, to reach greater heights when the badminton event takes off at the Wembley Arena in London.
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