I take one tournament at a time, says Indian badminton ace Ashwini Ponnappa

Mumbai: India’s badminton star Ashwini Ponnappa has already set her sights on the Commonwealth Games next year.

Ashwini, who won Gold in the women’s doubles category during the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi, followed it up with a silver medal in the same category during the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow.

The 27-year old stated that she takes one tournament at a time. Asked about her preparations, she said “It is going good. Preparations have been good, there have been quite a lot of tournaments.

I take it tournament-by-tournament. Next up, it is the World Championships in August. Every tournament I play is beneficial ahead of the Commonwealth games next year.”

Ashwini, who is a Red Bull athlete, also spoke about her association with Red Bull.

“I have been with Red Bull for the past four years, I have loved being a part of it. It is really nice to be a Red Bull athlete”, she said.

Ashwini also said that a tournament like the Premier Badminton League (PBL) helps the Indian shuttlers in a big way.

“PBL is beneficial for badminton as a whole, with a lot of world class players taking part. Especially, Indian players, they get a huge opportunity to watch and play with the best in the world,” she commented.

The Karnataka shuttler also hoped to see more players coming up from the state.

“I think players from Karnataka have a lot of top players to look upto. I am sure they are motivated players. I think the most important thing is to enjoy yourselves to get back on court, and believe in yourself,” she concluded.