There were moments when I thought will I ever be able to make a comeback, says Ashwini Ponnappa
By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor
Ashwini Ponnappa has revealed that there’s more than what meets the eyes as far as her form is concerned, revealing that she had a lot of self-doubt after Rio 2016. After failing to win a single game at the Olympics, Ponnappa had decided to part ways with long-time doubles partner, Jwala Gutta.
28-yearold Ponnappa was one of India’s better performers in the recently concluded 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth games, where she led India to its first gold in the Team event alongside partner Satwiksairaj Reddy before ending the campaign with a bronze with partner N. Sikki Reddy. And the comeback star has revealed that it wasn’t easy after an extremely disappointing outing at the 2016 Rio Olympics with then doubles’ partner Jwala Gutta.
"It is nice to get all the acknowledgement now but it has not been easy. After 2016 Rio Games, I started doubting myself. There was no power in my smashes, I couldn't hit as harder I did earlier, it was just not working. Though I had recovered from dengue and physically I looked okay, but internally I was struggling to get back to my best. So there were moments when I thought will I ever be able to make a comeback?," Ashwini told PTI on Tuesday.
The duo of Ponnappa-Gutta, who were triumphant on many occasions prior to Rio 2016, had failed to win a single game in Brazil. Ponnappa decided to end her seven-year association with Gutta shortly after the Olympics and focus on her game. As she struggled with her fitness, she found peace at home but this year she shifted her base to Hyderabad after getting married to businessman cum model Karan Medappa.
"I started training with a strength and conditioning coach in Bangalore in December, 2016. I felt better and played well in PBL. It was that time I was playing the singles, I played at Syed Modi. But again my physical strength came down. So I was crashing again and again and it was disheartening. Luckily, I started feeling better this year and we focused on training and not playing tournaments," Ponnappa added.
The Bangalore-born player added that she learned to put her absolute trust on Malaysian doubles coach Tan Kim Her, who was responsible for the resurgence of doubles’ tennis in India.
"With Tan Kim coming in, it is no longer an emotional thing, he makes and breaks pairs and it has worked. Last year, I had three partners, I had played with K Nandagopal, B Sumeeth Reddy and then Satwik. He has brought so many partnership, whether it is Pranaav and Sikki, Satwik and Chirag, so I trust him and if he tells me tomorrow that I would break partnership with Satwik, I would do it," she added.
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