Canada Open title a big boost ahead of World Championship: Ashwini Ponnappa

New Delhi: Ecstatic after winning the Canada Open women’s doubles title with Jwala Gutta, Indian shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa said that consistency has been the key to their success and this victory is a big boost ahead of the prestigious World Championship in August. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist pair of Ashwini and Jwala defeated the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek 21-19 21-16 to clinch the USD 50,000 Canada Open Grand Prix tournament on June 28. [caption id=“attachment_1161741” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Ashwinin Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta. AFP Photos.[/caption] “It is a fantastic win. We have been playing well and have been consistent. Winning the tournament just before the world championship is a great boost. Naturally, the World Championship in August is the next target for us,” Ashwini told PTI from Calgary. India’s best doubles pair, Ashwini and Jwala, won as many as four bronze medals last year but a title win has eluded them and Ashwini said it was nice to win a trophy after a long time. “Jwala and I have done well last year too. We won bronze medals at the ABC, Uber Cup, Asian Games in Incheon and silver at the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow. We also reached the semifinals at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and then last week at the US Open. So we have been consistent but we have won a title after a long time. It is great to break the draught,” Ashwini said. Ashwini and Jwala had taken a break post the London Olympics and this is their first title since their reunion after the 2012 Games. The duo trained separately for some time but now with the World Championship round the corner, they will once again start training together. “We have been training separately. I train at the national camp in Bangalore under Yusuf sir or Tom John, while Jwala is with Mohd Arif Sir, but since we have played together so much, we know each other’s game and we gel well at the tournaments. But for the World Championship, Jwala will come to Bangalore and we will be training together,” said Ashwini, who alongwith Jwala won the 2011 World Championship bronze medal. PTI