Gutta-Ponnappa gain crucial OGQ backing
Former World Championship bronze medalists, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have gained sponsorships from the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) foundation. The backing marks the arrival of the 100th athlete on board for the foundation, co-founded by badminton legend Prakash Padukone.
Padukone was all praise for the current crop of shuttlers and expressed his confidence in them. "I am confident badminton will do well this time in Olympics compared to other editions. Chances are very high for our shuttlers to win medals this time. This is the best phase of Indian badminton. We have good players and so many options both in men's singles, women's singles and women's doubles," Padukone said here on Wednesday as reported by The Hindu.
"I think this is the best phase for Indian badminton," the legend added.
The sponsorship come as a much needed boost for Gutta and Ponnappa, given their dip in form this year. The pair has only a single podium finish to their credit this year, courtesy their victory at the Canada Open Grand Prix back in June. The duo had tasted considerable success last year with a runner-up finish at the Common Wealth Games, and bronzes at the Asian Games and Uber Cup.
OGQ has extended its support to the pair at a critical juncture in the run-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Gutta stated OGQ’s support has come just at the right time with the Olympics only nine months away. “With less than nine months left for the Rio 2016 Olympics, I think OGQ support for Ashwini and myself has come at the right time. Our dream is to win a medal for India at the Olympics and OGQ support is a massive boost to us,” said Jwala according to reports from IBNlive website.
Ponnappa welcomed the decision with joy and expressed relief. “I am so happy that Jwala and me are a part of the OGQ family now. We have seen the way OGQ has been supporting other top badminton players over the years.
“It is a huge relief to get this kind of support,” Ponnappa added as quoted by The Hindu.
The pair now aims to get back into the top 10 in the world and make it to the year-end Destination Dubai Series Finals to be hosted by Dubai. "We are currently ranked 11th. We had broken into the top ten after the Canadian Open but I fell sick during the Japan and Korea Opens and the rankings have come down a bit. But our aim is to be in the top ten by year-end and also qualify for the Super Series finals (in Dubai)," said Jwala, the senior of the two players, on Wednesday.