A sensational run over the last two weeks has given wings to Ashwini Ponnappa's Olympics dreams, and the ace Indian shuttler now wants to continue her fine run in the upcoming bigger tournaments to stay on course for a trip to Paris.
Ashwini, 34, and the 20-year-old Tanisha Crasto, who joined hands in January this year, secured their third women's doubles title and the second Super 100 crown with a 21-13, 21-19 win over Chinese Taipei's Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui in the final of the Guwahati Masters on Sunday.
The pair had finished runners-up at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament last week in Lucknow and will start as favourites this week at the Odisha Open Super 100 in Cuttack.
Their exploits in Guwahati will lift them to world No. 23 when the BWF ranking is issued on Tuesday, taking them closer to top 16, which is the cut off mark for the Paris Games.
“... The goal of course is to play at the Olympics but since we are a new pair, our focus is to do well in every single tournament we are playing, to put up a good show and that is what we are focusing on right now,” Ashwini, a two-time Olympian, told PTI.
“I think there are a lot of factors to get to the Olympics, and for us it is important to simplify our journey and focus on our performance, and if we are meant to be in the Olympics, then it's fine.”
Currently, world No. 19 pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are the frontrunners in the Olympic race.
Ashwini and Tanisha had won the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 and Nantes International Challenge also this year.
“Now, we will get an entry in to bigger tournaments. We actually started off the year playing in a Super 500 event (Indonesia Masters) where we reached the quarterfinals, that gave us a lot of confidence because it was our first tournament together.
“Now, having had this journey of playing smaller tournaments and gradually working our way up, it gives us a lot of confidence. We have a lot of matches under our belt. So, now, the idea is to take all this positivity into next year but before that our focus is giving our best in Odisha.”
One of India's finest doubles exponents, Ashwini has enjoyed a lot of success with Jwala Gutta, winning the 2011 World Championships bronze and gold and silver medals at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games respectively.
Ashwini and Jwala had also participated in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics in London and Rio de Janeiro but couldn't cross the group stage on both the occasions.
After the 2016 Games, the duo parted ways and Ashwini forged an alliance with N Sikki Reddy. The pair parted ways last year.
Asked how she sees her role of a senior partner, Ashwini said: “Tanisha makes it easy for me because she is someone who is a fast learner and understands things really well. She holds her own on court and she keeps me calm when I go off track, having that freedom makes a difference.”
It is not easy to keep performing at 34 and Ashwini said focus on her diet and nutrition was the key.
“I made a few changes, especially in terms of looking after my body. I now understand the importance of being mindful of what I am eating and drinking. In the past, I got away by eating things in moderation but now it doesn't work. I used to love sweets but now I don't even eat sweets in moderation.”
