Ashwini Ponnappa is on a high after winning the Canadian Open women’s doubles crown along with vastly experienced Jwala Gutta. The Ashiwin-Jwala pair reached their career-best ranking of 13 having upset a higher ranked Dutch pair in the final of the Canadian Open.

Ashwini and Jwala are now focused on putting up a solid performance in next month’s World Championships.

Ashwini talked about her Canadian Open exploits, state of women’s doubles badminton in India and much more in an exclusive interview.

Excerpts:
Q: The Canadian Open win must have been just what was needed given the fact that the World Championships is happening in August coupled with the Olympics, which is just a year away. Must be pleased with the way things are going.

Yes I’m happy that Jwala and I won the Canadian Open. Though we won a few medals last year, we had not won a tournament in a very long time, hence this win feels great, especially because it is the Olympic year and the competition is fierce.

Q: You and Jwala did not have it easy in the final of the Canadian Open – you led 15-6 in the second game but the Dutch pair levelled things at 15-15 before you and Jwala showed your tenacity to win the match and the title. Do you think you guys are playing the best doubles of your career?

The Dutch pair are experienced and have won a lot of tournaments, so it was a tough match, I’m happy we won. Yes, I do think Jwala and I have improved and matured as a pair, which has helped us to play some really good matches and beat some top pairs.

Q: You and Jwala are the country’s top ranked women’s doubles – you guys reached highest ever ranking of 13 – how challenging it will be to break into the top ten and stay there consistently?

It is extremely tough for Jwala and me, especially since the two of us lack support in terms of firstly not having a professional doubles coach or a centre with sparring partners where the two of us can train together. We have managed to do well so far despite training in different cities merely because of the support we have received by the government in terms of sending us for all our tournaments, which has helped our game a lot. Sadly, that alone is just not enough to help us break into the top 10.

Q: You had upset the world number 8 in the final of the Canadian Open – how would you assess your chances in the World Championships?

We have as good a chance of doing well as any other pair out there. Though most of the pairs we would be up against come from countries which produce a lot of doubles pairs, I think me and Jwala are quite a strong pair and have a unique style as we are very offensive, so that should help.

Q: A lot has been said about you and Jwala being not included in the TOP scheme in the first two lists. How optimistic are you guys of being included in the next list?

Pretty optimistic!

Q: What are the improvement areas you guys need to focus on going forward?

Probably our defense needs focus.

Q: You are younger to Jwala by a few years, but you seemed like you have matured as a doubles player in recent times to complement the experience of Jwala. Your thoughts.

When I started playing with Jwala I was more or less an amateur with zero experience at the senior international level. But from the very first day Jwala has been supportive and encouraging and helped me to develop as a player.

Playing with her helped me to aim and dream big. The fact that she believed we could do well too helped a lot. And of course with time and experience, I think I’ve matured as a player.

Q: What would pave the way for the new crop of women doubles players in India as we are struggling to churn out quality pairs if we take both of you out of the equation?

To start off with, it would be having separate doubles camps with a doubles specialist and good sparring partners. If doubles as an event is given the right kind of encouragement and support, only then will it help youngsters to look at the event as a career option.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda /Home> Badminton> Canada-Open>Badminton / by Suhrid Barua / July 18th, 2015

Saurav was the more experienced when it came to crunch moments

Time was not ripe for the old order to change. This much was clear after the senior national proceedings at the squash’s brand new venue in India, the Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Two senior pros Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa helped themselves to one more title each. Saurav’s tenth title meant he had equalled Narpat Singh’s tally to be joint number one in terms of titles won in the history of squash in India while Joshna is three titles away from beating Bhuvaneswari Kumari’s record of 16.

Having said that, it must be mentioned that the two seniors must be wondering if the journey ahead would be just as kind to them. Keen observers of the sport still believe that the days of the two remaining at helm are not over yet, based on the way things panned out in Thiruvananthapuram. But it must be said both Harinder Pal Sandhu and Harshit Kaur, two respective runners up made deep impressions on the two winners.

The only difference was the factor ‘experience’. True, Harinder had beaten Saurav in Mumbai for his maiden title in what was part of the winning streak the young Sardar had gone through in 2014. Much has been written on those historic moments of which he was part of but when it came to the crux as it did this time, Harinder showed he still needed to fine tune certain aspects of his approach to rightfully renew the lease on the national title.
Harinder threw away the advantage

He fell just when it seemed he had Saurav at his mercy. Leading two games to nil and then conceding a game and still gaining a 6-2 lead in the fourth game, the Chennai lad appeared to get that dream touch. “His aggression and his ability to score winners not to mention his speedy movements, everything made it look as though there was little to choose between him and Saurav,” said national coach Cyrus Poncha without hiding his happiness over his ward’s wonderful progress in his career.

And yet Harinder forgot the cardinal principle in a sporting tussle that a win or loss is decided only after the last point is played. Experience was the key and a hardened pro now, Saurav has been through tough battles to know that all he needed was a single opening. Sure enough he found it to unsettle Harinder and the rest is now history.

Young players are coming through

Saurav admitted after the match that he thought Harinder played far better than what he did in Mumbai last year. And that adds to the poignancy for Harinder. Not so dramatic though was the women’s encounter but Joshna obviously had not bargained for the tough fight that junior champion Harshit produced, even if briefly. But those brief moments brought to fore the possibilities ahead as this Delhi player, who has shifted to Chennai to train at the ISA, is bound to gallop in confidence and experience.

Joshna may still have the ammunition required to keep her single-minded goal intact but one thing is sure with the bubbling enthusiasm building around, it could be a demanding task ahead. What impressed many in this year’s national championship was the way some of the players waiting to make a breakthrough in the senior ranks exhibited their talent.

Velavan Senthilkumar was one and Vijaykumar was another. The left handed Velavan, a product of ISA, is a cool but sound player with strong basics. What came to fore was the way he played to situations, like the way he wore down senior Sandeep Jangra in a show of complete control. Vijaykumar similarly outclassed Gaurav Nandrajog, once a strong force at the national level.

Both these young players have given sufficient indications of having come of age and that is good news for Indian squash. Add to that the continuing rise of Kush Kumar, who has the will to fight and does so admirably. In Thiruvananthapuram, Kush grabbed a game off Saurav in the semi-final and this is the first time he is achieving that against a senior professional.

There is more to come from this young man who like in his junior days, is keen to take on a dominant role and maybe he would not need to wait too long. In a way then the sport is now flux with good talents who, and that is significant, will serve the country long. They are young, eager and have come up through a tough competitive programme. The results of this has begun to show and Thiruvananthapuram was but just the beginning.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda / Home> Squash> National Championship – Squash / by Sharikal Raman / July 22nd, 2015