Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda is an accomplished Indian badminton player known for her success in both women’s and mixed doubles.
Early Life:
- Ashwini Ponnappa was born on September 18, 1989, in Bangalore, India.
- She was educated at St. Francis Xavier Girls High School in Bangalore and later at St. Mary’s College in Hyderabad.
- Ponnappa’s father represented India in hockey, but she chose badminton over hockey as her preferred sport.
Career:
- Ponnappa won her first national title in 2004 in the sub-junior girls’ doubles category and continued to achieve success in junior and sub-junior categories.
- She won the gold medal in mixed doubles and team events at the South Asian Games in 2010.
- At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Ponnappa, along with her partner Jwala Gutta, created history by winning the gold medal in the women’s doubles event.
- This achievement marked India’s first gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in that category.
- In 2011, Gutta and Ponnappa became the first Indian pair to secure a medal at the World Badminton Championships, winning a bronze.
- They participated in the women’s doubles at the 2012 London Olympics.
- After the Olympics, Jwala Gutta took a temporary sabbatical from the game, and Ponnappa briefly partnered with Pradnya Gadre in 2013 before reuniting with Gutta later that year.
- At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, they won the silver medal in women’s doubles.
- In June 2015, playing with Jwala, Ponnappa won the Canada Open women’s doubles title.
- She competed with Gutta at the 2016 Olympics, but they didn’t progress beyond the group stage.
- At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Ponnappa was part of the Indian team that won gold in the mixed team event and won bronze with N. Sikki Reddy in women’s doubles.
Personal Life:
- On December 24, 2017, Ashwini Ponnappa married businessman and model Karan Medappa.
Throughout her career, Ashwini Ponnappa has been an integral part of Indian badminton, achieving significant milestones and contributing to the success of the women’s and mixed doubles teams.
Her partnership with Jwala Gutta has been particularly noteworthy, bringing home several medals from international competitions.