Now Reading: Jwala Gutta recalls India’s first women’s doubles World medal
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Jwala Gutta recalls India’s first women’s doubles World medal
Exactly 15 years ago on August 14, 2011, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won India's first women's doubles medal at the BWF World Championships, a bronze in London. No Indian women's doubles…
The Story in Brief
Exactly 15 years ago on August 14, 2011, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won India's first women's doubles medal at the BWF World Championships, a bronze in London. No Indian women's doubles pair has matched that feat since. Jwala, now 42, told Sportstar the medal felt more difficult than the Olympics due to the number of matches. She recalled landing at Hyderabad airport to almost no fanfare. Looking ahead to the World Championship in Delhi, she named only P V Sindhu and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as realistic medal contenders.
The Indian Opinion
The usual narrative lauds India's badminton boom but forgets women's doubles has stagnated since 2011, no other pair has matched that bronze. The lazy talk of 'bench strength' ignores that Jwala and Ashwini trained without today's money or facilities. The test is next week in Delhi: can any Indian pair reach the semifinals, or will it be more hype about singles stars while doubles remains an afterthought?
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
