Ashwini Ponnappa

Ashwini Ponnappa

Ashwini Ponnappa during an IBL match.
Personal information
Birth name Ashwini Ponnappa
Country India
Born (1989-09-18) 18 September 1989
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Residence Hyderabad, India
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Years active 2007–present
Handedness Right
Coach Tom John
Women's Doubles
Highest ranking 10 (20 August 2015)
Current ranking 14 (14 January 2016)
Medal record
Representing  India
Women's badminton
World Championships
2011 London Women's doubles
Commonwealth Games
2010 Delhi Women's Doubles
2010 Delhi Mixed Team
2014 Glasgow Women's Doubles
Uber Cup
2014 New Delhi Team
Asian Games
2014 Incheon Women's team
South Asian Games
2016 Guwahati Women's Doubles
2016 Guwahati Women's Team
2016 Guwahati Mixed Doubles
BWF profile

Ashwini Ponnappa (born 18 September 1989) is an elite Indian badminton player who represents the country at the international badminton circuit in both the women's and mixed doubles disciplines. She has a successful partnership with Jwala Gutta as the pair have won many medals in international events including a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games historic bronze at World Championships. The pair have also been consistently ranked among the top 20 in the BWF World Ranking reaching as high as no. 10. Ponnappa alongside Gutta won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in 2011 becoming the first Indian pair and women and only the second overall to win a medal at the worlds.

Early life

Ashwini Ponnappa was born on 18 September 1989 in Bangalore . Her father was a national hockey player. However Ashwini preferred badminton over hockey and started training in Badminton.

Career

She completed her schooling in St. Francis Xavier's Girl's High School, Bangalore and she moved to Hyderabad for her Bachelor's degree. In 2001, Ashwini Ponnappa Won her first national title in 2004 in the sub-junior girls doubles category.She also won national title in sub-junior girls doubles in 2005,Junior girls doubles National title in 2006 and 2007. She won the gold medal in mixed doubles and the team events at the South Asian Games held in 2010.In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she won the gold medal in Women's Doubles event pairing with Jwala Gutta making history of winning the first gold medal for India in the event. Gutta and Ponnappa then became household names after winning the medal in front of home crowd.[1]

Later on in 2011 they came up with one of their finest performances when she and Gutta etched their names in history books becoming the first Indian pair to ensure a medal at the World Badminton Championships. The pair defeated 12th seeds Vita Marrisa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia 17-21, 21-10, 21-17 to storm into the women's doubles semifinal before losing out to Chinese fifth seeds in the semis in London, thereby winning a bronze in the Badminton World Championship.

She played women's doubles at the 2012 London Olympics. Ponnappa and Gutta lost there their opening women's double match against the Japanese duo of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa. They then went on to beat much higher ranked Wen Hsing Cheng and Yu Chin Chien of Chinese Taipei 25-23, 16-21, 21-18 to register their first win in the group stages. Jwala and Ashwini missed out on a quarterfinal berth by a difference of just one point, even though they beat Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao of Singapore 21-16 21-15 in their last group B match, after tying with Japan and Taipei on the number of wins. Prior to India's final group game on Tuesday night, the World number five Japanese pair of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa had shockingly lost to Chinese Taipei's Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin, ranked 10th, 19-21 11-21. India lodged a formal protest with the Games organizers to probe if the women's doubles badminton match involving Japan and Chinese Taipei was played in the right spirit, following the elimination of medal hopes Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa but no action was taken. Following the Olympic Games Jwala went to a temporary sabbatical from the game. Ponnappa then partnered Pradnya Gadre for a brief period of time in 2013 and then re-united with Jwala later in the year. On June 29 2015, continuing playing with Jwala, she won the Canada Open women's doubles title by defeating the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek.[2]

Record Against Selected Opponents

Women's Doubles results with Jwala Gutta against Super Series finalists, World Championships semifinalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rao, Rakesh (14 October 2010). "Saina wins singles gold". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  2. ↑ http://sports.ndtv.com/badminton/news/244597-jwala-gutta-ashwini-ponnappa-win-canada-open
  3. ↑ http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/profile/selectheadtohead.aspx?id=F3875CB7-E471-43E6-85AB-E5491472A119
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