 Ponnappa in 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1989-09-18)18 September 1989 (age 36) Bangalore, Karnataka, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2007–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Badminton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's & mixed doubles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 10 (WD withJwala Gutta, 20 August 2015) 19 (XD withSatwiksairaj Rankireddy, 3 February 2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BWF profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda (born 18 September 1989) is an Indianbadminton player who represents the country at the international badminton circuit in both the women's and mixed doubles disciplines. She had a successful partnership withJwala Gutta as the pair has won many medals in international events including a gold medal at theCommonwealth Games and bronze medals at theUber Cup and theAsian Badminton Championships. They were consistently ranked among the top 20 in theBWF World Ranking reaching as high as no. 10. Ponnappa and Gutta also won the bronze medal at theBWF World Championships in 2011, becoming the first Indian pair and women and only the second overall to win a medal at the World Championships.
Ashwini Ponnappa was born on 18 September 1989 in Bangalore. She was educated at St. Francis Xavier Girls High School, Bangalore and atSt. Mary's College, Hyderabad. Her father played hockey for India.[1] However Ashwini preferred badminton over hockey and started training in badminton.
In 2001, Ashwini Ponnappa won her first national title in 2004 in the sub-junior girls' doubles category. She also won the national title in sub-junior girls' doubles in 2005, and the Junior girls' doubles National title in 2006 and 2007. She won the gold medal in mixed doubles and the team events at theSouth Asian Games held in 2010. In the2010 Commonwealth Games, she won the gold medal in Women's Doubles event pairing withJwala Gutta, making history by winning the first gold medal for India in the event. Gutta and Ponnappa became household names after winning the medal in front of home crowd.[2]
Later on in 2011 they came up with one of their finest performances when she and Gutta etched their names in history books becoming the first Indian pair to ensure a medal at the World Badminton Championships. The pair defeated 12th seeds Vita Marrisa andNadya Melati of Indonesia 17–21, 21–10, 21–17 to storm into the women's doubles semifinal before losing out to Chinese fifth seeds in the semis in London, thereby winning a bronze in the Badminton World Championship.
She participated in the women's doubles at the2012 London Olympics. Ponnappa and Gutta lost their opening women's doubles match against the Japanese duo ofMizuki Fujii andReika Kakiiwa. They then went on to beat much higher rankedWen Hsing Cheng andYu Chin Chien of Chinese Taipei 25–23, 16–21, 21–18 to register their first win in the group stages. Jwala and Ashwini missed out on a quarterfinal berth by a difference of just one point, even though they beatShinta Mulia Sari andLei Yao of Singapore 21-16 21–15 in their last group B match, after tying with Japan and Taipei on the number of wins. Prior to India's final group game on Tuesday night, the World number five Japanese pair of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa had shockingly lost to Chinese Taipei's Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin, ranked 10th, 19-21 11–21. India lodged a formal protest with the Games organizers to probe if the women's doubles badminton match involving Japan and Chinese Taipei was played in the right spirit, following the elimination of medal hopes Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa but no action was taken. Following the Olympic Games Jwala went to a temporary sabbatical from the game. Ponnappa then partneredPradnya Gadre for a brief period of time in 2013 and then re-united withJwala later in the year. At the2014 Commonwealth Games, Ponnappa and Gutta won the silver medal in the women's doubles, losing to a Malaysian pair in the final.[3] On 29 June 2015, playing withJwala, they won the Canada Open women's doubles title by defeating the top-seeded Dutch pair ofEefje Muskens andSelena Piek.[4] She competed with Gutta at the2016 Olympics, but they lost all three of their group stage matches and therefore did not progress further.[5] At the2018 Commonwealth Games, Ponnappa was part of the Indian team which won gold in the mixed team event, and won bronze withN. Sikki Reddy in the women's doubles.[1]
On 24 December 2017, she married businessman and model Karan Medappa.[6][7]
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Wembley Arena,London, England |  Jwala Gutta |  Tian QingZhao Yunlei | 14–21, 16–21 |  Bronze |
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, India | Jwala Gutta |  Shinta Mulia SariYao Lei | 21–16, 21–19 |  Gold |
| 2014 | Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland | Jwala Gutta |  Vivian HooWoon Khe Wei | 17–21, 21–23 |  Silver |
| 2018 | Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Gold Coast, Australia | N. Sikki Reddy |  Setyana MapasaGronya Somerville | 21–19, 21–19 | Bronze |
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Gimcheon Indoor Stadium, Gimcheon, South Korea | Jwala Gutta | Luo YingLuo Yu | 12–21, 7–21 | Bronze |
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wooden-Floor Gymnasium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | P. C. Thulasi | Aparna BalanShruti Kurien | 19–21, 20–22 | Silver |
| 2016 | Multipurpose Hall SAI-SAG Centre, Shillong, India | Jwala Gutta | N. Sikki ReddyK. Maneesha | 21–9, 21–17 | Gold |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wooden-Floor Gymnasium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Valiyaveetil Diju | Sanave ThomasAparna Balan | 21–11, 21–15 | Gold |
| 2016 | Multipurpose Hall SAI-SAG Centre, Shillong, India | Manu Attri | Pranav ChopraN. Sikki Reddy | 29–30, 17–21 | Silver |
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[8] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[9]
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Syed Modi International | Super 300 | N. Sikki Reddy | Chow Mei KuanLee Meng Yean | 15–21, 13–21 |  Runner-up |
| 2019 | Hyderabad Open | Super 100 | N. Sikki Reddy |  Baek Ha-naJung Kyung-eun | 17–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | Abu Dhabi Masters | Super 100 | Tanisha Crasto |  Julie Finne-IpsenMai Surrow | 21–16, 16–21, 21–8 |  Winner |
| 2023 | Syed Modi International | Super 300 | Tanisha Crasto |  Rin IwanagaKie Nakanishi | 14–21, 21–17, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | Guwahati Masters | Super 100 | Tanisha Crasto |  Sung Shuo-yunYu Chien-hui | 21–13, 21–19 | Winner |
| 2023 | Odisha Masters | Super 100 | Tanisha Crasto |  Meilysa Trias Puspita SariRachel Allessya Rose | 14–21, 17–21 | Runner-up |
| 2024 | Guwahati Masters | Super 100 | Tanisha Crasto | Li HuazhouWang Zimeng | 21–18, 21–12 | Winner |
The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, theGrand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by theBadminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | India Open | Jwala Gutta | Shinta Mulia SariYao Lei | 11–21, 21–9, 15–21 | Runner-up |
| 2015 | Canada Open | Jwala Gutta |  Eefje MuskensSelena Piek | 21–19, 21–16 | Winner |
| 2017 | Syed Modi International | N. Sikki Reddy | Christinna PedersenKamilla Rytter Juhl | 16–21, 18–21 | Runner-up |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Syed Modi International | B. Sumeeth Reddy | Pranav ChopraN. Sikki Reddy | 20–22, 10–21 | Runner-up |
Women's singles
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Bahrain International | Trupti Murgunde | 16–21, 13–21 | Runner-up |
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Tata India International | Jwala Gutta | Pradnya GadreN. Sikki Reddy | 19–21, 19–21 | Runner-up |
| 2016 | Welsh International | N. Sikki Reddy |  Anastasia ChervyakovaOlga Morozova | 16–21, 11–21 | Runner-up |
| 2019 | Maldives International | N. Sikki Reddy | Sayaka HobaraNatsuki Sone | 10–21, 21–17, 12–21 | Runner-up |
| 2021 | Denmark Masters | N. Sikki Reddy | Amalie MagelundFreja Ravn | 21–15, 19–21, 14–21 | Runner-up |
| 2023 | Nantes International | Tanisha Crasto | Hung En-tzuLin Yu-pei | 21–15, 21–14 | Winner |
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Tata India International | Tarun Kona | Akshay DewalkarPradnya Gadre | 17–21, 21–18, 18–21 | Runner-up |
| 2022 (III) | India International Challenge | Sai Pratheek K. | Rohan KapoorN. Sikki Reddy | 21–16, 11–21, 21–18 | Winner |
Women's doubles results withJwala Gutta against Super Series finalists, World Championships semifinalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists.[10]
Leanne Choo &Renuga Veeran 1–0Du Jing &Yu Yang 0–1Tang Jinhua &Xia Huan 0–1Ma Jin &Wang Xiaoli 0–2Tian Qing &Zhao Yunlei 0–9Wang Xiaoli &Yu Yang 0–4Yang Wei &Zhang Jiewen 0–1Luo Ying &Luo Yu 0–4Ma Jin &Tang Yuanting 0–1Cheng Wen-hsing &Chien Yu-chin 2–2Christinna Pedersen &Kamilla Rytter Juhl 0–2
Poon Lok Yan &Tse Ying Suet 1–1Vita Marissa &Nadya Melati 2–1Mizuki Fujii &Reika Kakiiwa 1–3Miyuki Maeda &Satoko Suetsuna 1–4Shizuka Matsuo &Mami Naito 0–3Misaki Matsutomo &Ayaka Takahashi 0–2Ha Jung-eun &Kim Min-jung 0–3Lee Hyo-jung &Kim Min-jung 0–1Jung Kyung-eun &Kim Ha-na 1–2Chin Eei Hui &Wong Pei Tty 0–5Eefje Muskens &Selena Piek 2–2Shinta Mulia Sari &Yao Lei 2–4
Duanganong Aroonkesorn &Kunchala Voravichitchaikul 2–0Puttita Supajirakul &Sapsiree Taerattanachai 2–0
