winnig is a boost: Ashwini

 Ecstatic after winning the Canada Open women’s doubles title with Jwala Gutta, Indian shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa on Monday said consistency has been the key to their success and this victory is a big boost ahead of the prestigious World Championship in August.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist pair of Ashwini and Jwala defeated the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek 21-19 21-16 to clinch the $50,000 Canada Open Grand Prix tournament last night.

“It is a fantastic win. We have been playing well and have been consistent. Winning the tournament just before the world championship is a great boost. Naturally, the World Championship in August is the next target for us,” Ashwini said.

India’s best doubles pair, Ashwini and Jwala, won as many as four bronze medals last year but a title win has eluded them and Ashwini said it was nice to annex a trophy after a long time.

“Me and Jwala have done well last year too. We won bronze medals at the ABC, Uber Cup, Asian Games in Incheon and silver at the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow. We also reached the semifinals at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and then last week at the US Open. So we have been consistent but we have won a title after a long time,” Ashwini said.

Their consistency and a semifinal place at the US Open saw them reach their career-best ranking of world No. 13 last week and this win will see them surging further up but Ashwini said their target is doing well in tournaments and not focusing on ranking. “It has been a great last two weeks and now the emphasis is to keep playing well and get better with each tournament. The standard of super series is different, so we will be training hard to be at our best at the World Championship.”