Ashwini Ponnappa keen on fresh start in badminton mixed doubles
Ashwini Ponnappa keen on fresh start in badminton mixed doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa is full of the germ of an idea as she searches for a new challenge and prepares to enter an “extremely greedy” phase of her career.
Ashwini has opted to take a vacation from women’s doubles and will no longer be playing with her former partner, N. Reddy, Sikki. She’s looking to get her feet wet in mixed doubles and has teamed up with Sai Pratheek Krishnaprasad, a towering 22-year-old.
Ashwini, who previously played mixed doubles with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, is eager to give Pratheek and Ishan Bhatnagar another go without the added strain of competing against Pratheek and Ishan.
For the next couple of three months, we just want to see how things are going.
Statement
The Indian doubles shuttler who has won many medals says, “I adore mixed doubles, and I’m anxious to start off and build on our combination without being too stressed about an XYZ ranking or XYZ competition.”
Instead of focusing on winning certain events, you should focus on establishing the correct understanding and coordination. The Paris Olympics would be a dream come true, but I have a long way to go before I can even think about qualifying,” she remarked.
Pratheek is a promising young player with strong defensive abilities and a knack for the backcourt. Ashwini wants to perform with the Bengaluru local who relaxes by drumming because she believes it will help her “start to play better” and revitalize her own career.
To be continued. Don’t expect me to force a younger kid to play with me if they don’t want to. I think this slower pace of goal-setting will work, but if it doesn’t, she says there will be no hard feelings. Pratheek will gain valuable experience working alongside a seasoned pro on the tour while he absorbs information at a rapid pace.
Time for change
Ashwini believes her collaboration with Sikki has reached its full potential and has come to an end. Obviously, my relationship with Jwala is different from ours.
The number of positive outcomes is lower. Yet, we both toiled away, doing our absolute best. Dedicated to her goals, Sikki works long and hard hours. I’m sure she’ll find a great companion soon,” she says.
Ashwini and her partner Satwik advanced to the mixed semifinals of a Super 1000, and they came near to defeating several top pairs along the way.
They also reached the quarterfinals of the All England Championships and the finals of the World Tour. Still, setbacks in health and the latter stages of the game discouraged the duo. Those are promising outcomes, but I have a greedy nature. The phrase “I want more wins” was uttered by her. She is eager to give mixed a solid shot but is not opposed to returning to women’s doubles.
But most importantly, she wants to rediscover the fun of playing again. Several devastating setbacks over the past few months have made her sad. “Physically, playing wasn’t anything I struggled with. The hardest part was dealing with the unexpected mental shifts.
“When you have your training schedule all planned out, and something unexpected comes up, it can really take a toll on your mental health,” she added. But the impetus is still there. I really enjoy badminton. In order to perform successfully, I need to have fun. The frenetic energy of mixed doubles can invigorate her drive when that is impeded.
Indian doubles begin to rumble.
The Japanese, the Koreans, and the Chinese make their opponents fight with everything they have in every women’s doubles match. It’s common for them to be automatic doubles players.
It’s 2022 now, although I started in 2010. The bronze medalist from the 2011 World Championships, the champion from the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the silver medalist from the 2014 CWG all agree: “That’s long, and it’s about time kids took over and performed.” Ashwini played a crucial role for India’s mixed team as they won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Ashwini is pleased with the development of new players as she serves as brand ambassador for the Red Bull event, India’s only purely women’s doubles tournament, with the national finals in Delhi on October 21. There’s a lot of potential between Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
They just need to trust in themselves and use their speed and agility. They should strive for consistency and build on their successes. Congratulations to Ashwini Bhatt and Shikha Gautam, two Indian women who performed admirably at the World Championships.
Now that they have some help, things are looking up for doubles, which is great to see. Because of the improvement, I’m not bitter. She thinks it’s fantastic for Indian badminton.
Bronze at the 2011 Women’s Doubles World Championship set the stage for Satwik-Chirag Shetty to win bronze at the Men’s Doubles World Championship last month.
Twice the highly anticipated pairings had failed to produce a result. I’m thrilled for Satwik and Chirag; they’ve had a wonderful year and a lot of fun both on and off the court. According to her, “they get along wonderfully.” There are currently three men’s doubles teams in the world quarterfinals. ‘I’m crossing my fingers that this fad catches on in women’s doubles as quickly,’ she says.