Ashwini Ponnappa: I have matured as a doubles partner

Ashwini Ponnappa talks about how becoming a partner to Jwala Gutta has prepared her to play a more mature role in her partnership with N Sikki Reddy.

India's star doubles shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa, 29, says her popularity after becoming Jwala Gutta's partner has prepared her to play a more mature role in her partnership with N Sikki Reddy, 25.

"Sikki and I are more on par as she too has had a few international achievements before I started to partner her. When I partnered Jwala, she was already an established player, who was well known for her achievements with her previous partners. I had no international experience when I started playing with her. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold with Jwala got me recognition. On court, I think I have grown and I'm more mature now as a partner," the Red Bull athlete, who recently lost to top-seeded Indonesian pair of Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu 10-21, 18-21 in the quarter-finals of the India Open, told mid-day yesterday.

In the crucial pre-Olympics year, Ponappa is training hard with an eye on not just one but two events at Tokyo 2020 - women's doubles (with Reddy) and mixed doubles (with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy). Ponnappa's current women's doubles ranking is 20, while she is ranked 24 in mixed doubles.

The hard-hitting shuttler said she is confident ahead of next year's Games and is not thinking about her performance with Jwala at the 2016 Rio edition (they lost all three doubles matches) where she played after recovering from dengue. "I'm capable and want to give 100 per cent in both events. It would be great if Sikki and myself, and Satwik and I can break into the Top-15 or Top-10. We haven't broken into the Top-20 in both, but we have the game and are confident we will.

We will be undergoing tough training sessions in the next three weeks with newly-appointed Indonesian doubles coaches - Flandy Limpele and Namrih Suroto. I am going to turn 30 this year, but I'm as fit and excited as a kid and will to continue training hard to achieve my goals," said Ponnappa.

Also read: Ashwini Ponnappa credits a new training regime for her win at India Open 2019

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