Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda is an Indian badminton player who had a successful partnership with Jwala Gutta. She, along with Jwala Gutta won a lot of medals in international events including a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and a remarkable bronze at the World Championships.
Early Life of Ashwini Ponnappa
Ashwini Ponnappa was born on 18th September 1989 at Bengaluru, India. Her father was a national hockey player. She completed her schooling in St. Francis Xavier`s Girl`s High School, Bengaluru and she moved to Hyderabad for her Bachelor`s degree.
Career of Ashwini Ponnappa
Ashwini Ponnappa won her first national title in 2004 in the sub-junior girls` doubles category. She also won national title in sub-junior girls` doubles in 2005; junior girls` doubles National title in 2006 and 2007. She won the gold medal in mixed doubles and the team events at the South Asian Games held in 2010. In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she won gold medal in Women`s Doubles pairing with Jwala Gutta winning the first gold medal for India in the event.
In 2011, the pair became the first Indian pair to ensure a medal at the World Badminton Championships. She played women`s doubles at the 2012 London Olympics. Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta lost their opening women`s doubles match against the Japanese duo of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa. They then went on to beat much higher ranked Wen Hsing Cheng and Yu Chin Chien of Chinese Taipei to register their first win in the group stages. Jwala and Ashwini missed out on a quarterfinal. In 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games she won silver in Women`s doubles. On June 29, 2015, continuing playing with Jwala, she won the Canada Open women`s doubles title by defeating the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek. In 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati, she won gold in Women`s doubles and silver in Mixed doubles. In 2016 Uber Cup, she won bronze in Women`s team. In 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, she won bronze in Women`s doubles and gold in mixed doubles.
Personal Life of Ashwini Ponnappa
On 24 December 2017 she married businessman and model Karan Medappa.
