Who is Ashwini Ponnappa? All you need to know about the Indian shuttler competing in women's doubles at Paris Olympics 2024
Veteran shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa is all set to pair up with Tanisha Crasto in the women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics 2024. The duo made the cut for the Games, courtesy of their impressive performances, emerging as the 12th eligible pair in the Road to Paris rankings.
Hailing from Bengaluru, Karnataka, Ashwini was introduced to the sport when she was two and a half years old.
How did Ashwini Ponnappa take up the sport?
Though her father MA Ponnappa played hockey for India, Ashwini preferred badminton over hockey and started training in badminton. She enrolled at an academy at the age of eight and took the sport seriously.
Ashwini won her first national title at the age of 12 in 2004 in the sub-junior girls doubles category. She went on to clinch national titles in the sub-junior doubles in 2005 and the junior doubles in 2006 and 2007.
Dominance in South Asian Games and Commonwealth Games
At the South Asian Games in 2010 in Dhaka, Ashwini claimed gold medals in the mixed doubles and with the women's team. She paired up with Jwala Gutta and secured the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi.
In 2011, the pair bagged a bronze medal at the World Championships in London, emerging as the first women’s pair to do so. At the London Olympics in 2012, the pair missed out on a quarter-final berth by just one point.
Misfortune at London Olympics in 2012
After the Olympics, Jwala went on a sabbatical. During her comeback in 2014, Jwala paired up with Ashwini Ponnappa again at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, securing a silver medal.
Later, the star pair played an important role in propelling India to Uber Cup bronze medal wins in 2014 and 2016.
After just recovering from dengue, Ashwini Ponnappa competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016. The Indian pair ended the campaign without a win, putting an end to the fruitful partnership.
In 2017, she got married to her long-time boyfriend Karan Medappa, a businessman and a model. The couple lives in Bengaluru.
Injuries and decline in form
Ashwini Ponnappa teamed up with N Sikki Reddy in 2018 and secured the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in the women’s doubles event. However, constant injuries, a below par 2019 season and illness resulted in Ashwini losing her spot at Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
She later paired up with badminton sensation Tanisha Crasto, securing two BWF World Tour titles and ending other two tours as runners-up in 2023. The duo also bagged the title in the BWF International Challenge Series, Nantes International in 2023.