"Sparks of good performances when I've been down" - Ashwini Ponappa on what keeps her going ahead of 2024 Paris Olympic campaign

Ashwini Ponappa is a name that has now become synonymous with the doubles event as far as Indian badminton is concerned. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist, who created history by winning bronze at the World Badminton Championships 13 years ago, will represent India at the Olympics for the third time when the Paris Games get underway in late July.

What keeps Ashwini going through the ups and downs and fuels her hunger to keep performing at the highest level?

During an exclusive interaction, the 34-year-old star told Sportskeeda that the "sparks of good performances" between the unsuccessful phases combined with her body holding up have kept her going.

She also noted that her family and friends have been her biggest motivators and supporters through tough moments.

"Honestly, when I look back now, I don't know how I've done it. I think it's been sparks of good performances in between when I've been down. And, all of a sudden there's been a good match and a good win,"Ashwini Ponappa explained.

"Those have kept me going along with my family and friends who have been my biggest motivators and supporters," she added before taking a pause. "Mentally, I think they are the ones who've been there for me the most especially when I've had moments where I feel it's getting really tough."

Ashwini also revealed that despite not performing as well as she would have liked to for long periods, a few good matches in the interim have given her the hope to keep pushing.

"They have been pushing me and giving me the right kind of advice needed to keep going. Like I said, even though I may not have had the best of performances for a couple of years, in those years there have been matches that have been pretty good," she reminisced.

"Those good matches have kept me going for the next couple of months and then again another good performance. Even though they haven't been wins per se in terms of winning tournaments, those sparks and moments of good quality badminton have kept me going and have given me hope that I still have it in me, I've still got it in me to keep pushing," Ashwini declared.

"Thankfully, my body has also held up so far so I could continue training and working towards what i would want to achieve," she stressed before shifting the focus on Tanisha Crasto.

Ashwini Ponappa, who was the younger partner alongside Jwala Gutta during her early playing days, is now, by far, the senior player while pairing up with 20-year-old Tanisha Crasto.

Ashwini considers it 'a blessing' to be playing with someone as young as Tanisha since the partnership brings forth a mix of experience and young enthusiasm.

"I have never really looked at it from a senior-junior point of view. Of course, there is a massive age gap between the two of us but on court, I have always believed that we are partners. Even though I have a lot more experience due to the fact that I have played for such a long time, I see it as a blessing to be playing with someone as young as Tanisha," the ace shuttler said.

"I would say that it's exciting for me because it's a mix between having experience and young enthusiasm getting on board. It's a very nice mix to have on court because I definitely take a lot of energy from Tanisha since a lot of the tournaments and experiences are very new to her and I love that," said Ashwini Ponappa delving deep into the partnership.

The 'new partnership' is what Ashwini Ponappa considers significant after the duo ensured a place for themselves in the women's doubles event at the 2024 Olympics.

"Even though I am very senior and this is my third Olympics, together we are new partnership - and I would rather count it partnership-wise rather than for the age gap between two players in the partnership," she said summing up her equation with Tanisha Crasto.

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"I love hockey because hockey is in my blood" - Ashwini Ponappa

Ashwini Ponappa's father, brother, and uncles all play hockey

With family roots in Coorg, which has for long produced some of India's finest hockey talent, Ashwini Ponappa follows the game that her dad played at the highest level.

She states with little hesitation that the results of the current Indian hockey team make her proud before describing a special match she watched during the Asian Games.

"I do follow their (the hockey team's) results, I haven't really followed their matches as I haven't really taken time out to watch their matches but their results yes - and they have also made me very proud," she stated.

"I love hockey because hockey is in my blood. My dad played, my uncles played, my brother played. I enjoyed watching all of them play. Honestly, for me, I love going and watching the matches live," she disclosed.

Expecting a close contest, Ashwini took time out to watch arch-rivals India and Pakistan square off in a group match of the 2023 Asian Games only to witness the Indians thrash the Men in Green by a 10-2 margin.

"I was fortunate enough to have watched India and Pakistan play at the Asian Games. I thought it was going to be a tough fight, that's what I expected it to be because it was India and Pakistan, and in the past, India and Pakistan matches were super thrilling," she said looking back at the Hangzhou Games.

"Of course, our team was very strong and they did really well and they thrashed Pakistan (10-2). I enjoy watching hockey matches live. I haven't really watched any online or on TV of late," said Ashwini Ponappa who is managed by IOS Sports and Entertainment.