Jwala Gutta

Jwala Gutta

Jwala during a match at the IBL
Personal information
Country  India
Born (1983-09-07) 7 September 1983
Wardha, Maharashtra, India
Residence Hyderabad, India
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Weight 60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st)
Years active 2001–Present
Handedness Left
Coach S. M. Arif
Mixed Doubles/ Women's Doubles
Highest ranking 6 (in XD) (Aug 2010)
10 (in WD) (20 August 2015)
Current ranking 14 (in WD) (5 May 2016)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  India
World Championships
2011 London Women's doubles
Commonwealth Games
2010 Delhi Women's Doubles
2010 Delhi Mixed Team
2014 Glasgow Women's Doubles
2006 Melbourne Mixed Team
Uber Cup
2014 New Delhi Team
2016 Kunshan Team
Asia Championships
2014 Gimcheon Women's Doubles
South Asian Games
2006 Colombo Mixed Doubles
2016 Guwahati Women's Doubles
2016 Guwahati Women's Team
BWF profile

Jwala Gutta is a left-handed Indian badminton player. Gutta, who is the country's most successful doubles specialist, has won the National Badminton Championships fourteen times. She has represented India at the international circuit since early 2000s, partnering Shruti Kurien earlier in her career winning the national championships for six consecutive years. Gutta later found greater international success with Ashwini Ponnappa, and the pair consistently figured among the top-twenty pairs in the BWF World Ranking reaching as high as no. 10 in 2015.

Gutta has won numerous medals for Indian badminton including the bronze medal BWF World Championships in 2011 and a gold and silver at 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games respectively in women's doubles which were the first for the country in the discipline. Other achievements include the historic bronze medal at the 2014 Thomas & Uber Cup held at New Delhi, a bronze medal at Badminton Asia Championships in the same year and final and semi-final appearances in many big international events most notably the finals appearance at the 2009 BWF Super Series Masters Finals alongside Diju which was the first for the country in any discipline.

Gutta has been credited to have brought recognition for doubles badminton in India, first with her mixed doubles partner Valiyaveetil Diju with whom she peaked at no. 6 in 2010 becoming the first doubles partnership from the country to be ranked amongst the top-10 and later with her partnership with Ponnappa in women's doubles. She has also won medals at all major international badminton tournaments and multi-sport events, except for the Olympics.[2] In addition to her successful career, Gutta has been vociferous for the issues she advocates for, ranging from fair treatment in sports, health and education, women's empowerment and gender equality. She has been listed several times among the top most inspiring sportswomen of India. She was awarded the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award for her achievements. She paired with Ponappa at the Rio 2016 Olympics where the pair crashed out in the group stage with two consecutive losses at the hands of opponents from Japan and Netherlands.[3]

Early life and junior career

Jwala Gutta was born on 7 September 1983 in Wardha, Maharashtra and brought up in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to a Telugu Hindu Indian father and a Chinese mother. Jwala's father, Kranti Gutta, hailed from a family of freedom fighters and Leftists from Peddapuliveru in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district.[4][5] Her mother, Yelan Gutta, was born in Tianjin, and is a granddaughter of a Gandhian named Tseng. Yelan first came to India in 1977 with her grandfather to visit the Sevagram ashram, where she translated Gandhi's autobiography and other works into Chinese language.[6] Gutta has a younger sister, Insi Gutta.[7]

Initially inclined towards playing tennis, Gutta shifted to badminton at insistence from her mother.[8][9] She was introduced to the national badminton coach S. M. Arif, by her father at the age of four. Arif recommended her to learn gymnastics or swimming for a couple of years before starting training for badminton.[10] Gutta later started training under Arif, at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium.[10]

Jwala started playing badminton at the age of six. Her chief achievement as a youngster was to win the Under-13 Girls Mini National Badminton Championship held at Thrissur, Kerala. In 2000, Jwala (aged 17) won the Junior National Badminton Championship. The same year, she also won the Women's Doubles Junior National Championship and the Senior National Badminton Championship, both in partnership with Shruti Kurien. This association was to last several years, and the pairing of Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien won the Women's Doubles National title for seven years in succession, from 2002 to 2008.

Playing style

Jwala Gutta likes playing aggressive badminton and has a great affinity for netplay, with a great level of skill at the net like good anticipation and deceptive shots.[11] She is considered very dangerous at the net with good reading of the game and great interceptions and is substantially sharp with her strokes at the net. She also has a strong smash from the back court and often makes use of deceptive drops.[12] She is vulnerable in a few areas the most evident being her movement across the court and can commit errors when forced to move. She has also had some fitness issues in her long career.[12] She is also famous for being one of the only world-class doubles player to still use the forehand service since most other doubles specialists opt for the safer backhand serve. She stands unique in this aspect.[11]

Performance in women's doubles

Early years: 2002–09

Gutta partnered Shruti Kurien-Kanetkar during the early part of her career for the women's doubles competition. The duo reached the semi-final round of their second international tournament itself, the India Asia Satellite tournament 2002. They also reached the semi-final round of the same tournament in the year 2004, and finished runner-up at the Le Volant d'Or Tournament, known as Toulouse Open the same year.[13] Further, she reached the Final Rounds of the Scottish International tournament 2004 and 40th Portuguese Badminton Championship 2004.[13] In the year 2006, she won the Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament; while in the year 2007, she won the Cyprus Badminton International tournament. The same year, she also won at the Pakistan International Challenge tournament and the Indian International Challenge tournament. Apart from these achievements, Jwala won the Nepal International Series tournament 2008 and Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix 2008 in the Women's Doubles category.[13]

2010: Commonwealth Gold and breakthrough

Jwala then split with her longtime partner Shruti Kurien due to compatibility issues. She then paired up with young Ashwini Ponnappa from Bangalore who was called up for the national camp just before the Commonwealth Games. She and Ponnappa then went on to win the sensational gold medal in the women's doubles at the New Delhi Commonwelth Games making history of winning the first gold medal for India in the event. They beat much higher ranked Singaporean pair of Shinta Mulia Sari and Yao Lei in the finals 21–15, 21–19 in front of the cheering home crowd and set the stadium ablaze with their win. Gutta and Ponnappa then became household names after winning the medal in front of home crowd. Since, their Gold Medal effort at the games they brought Women's Doubles into limelight in the country.

After the win Jwala at a press conference stated, "It's unbelievable. I think it was long pending for me. I am quite emotional. The feeling is yet to sink in. Ashwini played exceptionally well and we hope to continue the good work, I want to dedicate the medal to my family who stood by me, my coaches, especially SM Arif, Atik Jauhari and all the team members, Gopi. I owe this medal to all who helped me,"[14] and added that "This medal will silence my critics. This is my answer to them to whatever happened. I am very happy and everyone who has negative thoughts about me, I would like to say just shut-up now,"[15]

2011: World Championships Bronze

In 2011, they came up with one of their finest performances when the pair 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 and Nadya Melati of Indonesia 17–21, 21–10, 21–17 to storm into the women's doubles semifinal before losing out to the Chinese fifth seeds in the semi-finals in London, thereby winning a bronze in the Badminton World Championship. They had previously beaten Poon Lok Yan and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong 19–21, 21–17, 21–19 in Round of 16. Also, in the second round they had caused a big upset by beating the 2nd seeds and former World Num 1s. Cheng Wen-hsing Chien Yu-chin of Chinese Taipei 21–18 21–18.[16] In a 2016 report published by Sportskeeda, the feat was ranked as the fifth greatest achievement of Indian badminton.[16]

2012: London Olympics

She played women's doubles as well as mixed doubles at the 2012 London Olympics becoming the first and the only Indian to qualify in two events in the entire history of the game.[17][18] Jwala pairing with Ashwini Ponappa lost their opening women's doubles match against the Japanese duo of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa.[19] They then went on to beat the much higher ranked Cheng Wen-hsing and Chien Yu-chin of Chinese Taipei 25–23, 16–21, 21–18 to register their first win in the group stages.[20] Jwala and Ashwini missed out on a quarterfinal berth by a difference of just one point, even though they beat Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei 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.[21] Following the Olympic Games, Jwala went to a temporary sabbatical from the game.

2013: Comeback and IBL

In January 2013, Jwala announced her comeback to the game and partnered Prajakta Sawant since Ponnappa was partnering with Pradnya Gadre and had committed to continue her partnership with Gadre so went on play with Sawant, who at that time was going through a battle against national coach Pullela Gopichand.[22] Indian Badminton League (IBL) was announced the same year.

Gutta playing against partner Ponnappa and Joachim Fischer Nielsen at IBL

IBL was a franchise league commercially managed by an Indian sports rights management company, Sporty Solutionz as commercial partners. With the brand value of US$1 million, Indian Badminton League was the richest badminton league in the world. Jwala was one of the six marquee players and team captains to be auctioned. The auction itself was not short of controversy. The base price of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa was halved from USD 50,000 to USD 25,000, without the players' notice and Women's Doubles event was replaced by a second Men's Singles. This left both Jwala and Ashwini hurt and angry. Jwala was bought for USD 31,000 and captained the Delhi franchise, but the team did not reach the semis and finished fifth. Gutta and Ponnappa after IBL confirmed on that they were set to reunite. Jwala went on to add that the two decided to come together because of a couple of reasons. The first was the Indian Badminton League's organisers knocking out the women's doubles category from the tournament, which in turn resulted in the base prices of Jwala and Ashwini.[23]

2014: Asian and Uber Cup bronze, CWG silver

In 2014 Jwala and Ashwini won the bronze medal at Asian Championships in April defeating 3rd seeded Thai pair of Kunchala Voravichitchaikul and Duanganong Aroonkesorn 21–11, 21–18 en route losing out to Chinese twins Luo Ying and Luo Yu at the semi-final stage. The pair played a key role in India's historic Bronze at the Uber Cup in New Delhi.[24] The duo unleashed a giant-killing spree as they had to face much higher ranked opponents in most of their matches and they won each, their biggest win came when outplayed the World No. 9 team of Greysia Polii and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari 21–18, 21–18 from Indonesia in the first doubles match of the tie. The win took India to the semis for the first time in Uber Cup history and assured them of the bronze medal.[25][26] They later participated at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and narrowly missed the podium finish in the team event came up with the silver medal at the games losing put to Malaysian pair of Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei in a closely contested final. The Indian pair lost the first game 17–21, before going down in a well-fought second game. Jwala and Ponnappa had taken the lead and looked good to take the match into the deciding third game. It was their second medal at the games after the 2010 Gold.[27]

2015: Canada GP title and top-10 ranking

Jwala and Ashwini kicked started 2015 with a semi-final appearance at 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold held at Lucknow. They next appeared in the prestigious All England Open reached the 2nd round losing out to the top seeds Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in straight games. The pair of Gutta and Ponnappa also re-entered the Top-20 rankings after All England.

In May, Jwala played for India at the 2015 Sudirman Cup as they were placed in group 1D, clubbed together with three-time winner Korea and Malaysia. The Malaysian team was buoyed by the return of former world no. 1 Lee Chong Wei from a dope-related suspension and that made things difficult for India. India started with a narrow 2–3 loss to Malaysia Saina Nehwal and the duo of Gutta and Ponnappa delivered the wins. Jwala and Ashwini stole the show with their determined efforts that saw them upsetting the world no. 11 pair of Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei 21–18, 19–21, 21–15.

After the narrow defeat against Malaysia, India needed to win the tie v Korea to progress into the quarter-finals. Parupalli Kashyap and the men's doubles pair of Pranav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar lost both their matches the onus was once again on Gutta and Ponnappa. They fought hard but it was not enough to topple the Koreans. Chang Ye Na and Jung Kyung-eun won the contest 18–21, 21–12, 21–12 to seal a 3–1 victory for Korea.[28] With defeats in both the rubbers India failed to make the quarter-finals.

Jwala and Ashwini then participated in the 2015 U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold and the pair seeded 4th reached the semi-finals losing out to Japanese pair of Ayane Kurihara and Naru Shinoya 17–21, 11–21.[29][30] En route to semis they did not lose a single game and defeated Turkish pair of Neslihan Yiğit and Özge Bayrak 21–10, 21–18 and in the quarter-finals defeated German seventh seeds Johanna Goliszewski and Carla Nelte 21–17, 21–14.[31]

The pair next participated in the 2015 Canada Open Grand Prix and seeded third went on to win the title defeating top seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek 21–19, 21–16. It was the pairs first title since coming back together after the 2012 Olympics.[32] The win was commended by the Indian media as the duo were the only women's doubles pair from the country to win a Grand Prix title. Jwala expressed her concerns for lack of support for doubles in the country and prompted the association and the government to promote doubles.[33] Jwala told NDTV in an interview, "We though big wins would wake up concerned people but it hasn't happened yet. We are still confident of representing India at an international level but here, extra support is needed as we can't afford it on our own.[34]

Continuing their good form Gutta and Ponnappa reached the quarter-final stage of the 2015 BWF World Championships. The pair received a bye in the first round and defeated Hsieh Pei-chen and Wu Ti-jung of Chinese Taipei in straight sets. In the last 16 clash the pair stunned world no. 6 pair of Reika Kakiiwa and Miyuki Maeda from Japan 21–15, 18–21, 21–19. The pair missed out on the bronze medal after losing out to another Japanese pair of Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao.[35]

The quarter-final finish at the World Championships hepled Gutta and Ponnappa jumped 2 places in the BWF World Ranking as they entered the top 10 forth first time in their career. With this Gutta thus became the first player to be ranked in the Top-10 of the world rankings in both the doubles category.[36]

2016: PBL & Second Uber Cup Bronze

Gutta began her 2016 with the Premier Badminton League, where she represented Hyderbad Hunters alongside Lee Chong Wei and Parupalli Kashyap.[37][38] She played in the mixed doubles alongside Indonesian Markis Kido and Danish Carsten Mogensen. The team couldn't qualify for the knock-out stage, finishing fifth in the standings.[39]

In May, Gutta was part of the Indian team for the 2016 Thomas & Uber Cup held at Kunshan, China. The Indian women's team was put into Group- D alongside Japan, Germany and Australia.[40] The India team beat Germany and Australia 5–0 before losing out to Japan to finish second in the group. In the quarter-finals they came back from a 0–1 deficit after Saina Nehwal lost the first singles to beat Thailand 3–1.[41] Gutta and Ponnappa won their match in straight sets to secure a semifinal berth and the team's second consecutive bronze medal. The Indian team was however beaten by eventual champions China in the semifinal stage.[42]

Performance in mixed doubles

Early years

Jwala has won titles in the Jakarta Satellite tournament and Welsh International tournament in the year 2005, Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament, Cyprus Badminton International tournament and Indian International Challenge tournament in the year 2007, and Nepal International Series tournament, Bitburger Open Grand Prix tournament and KLRC Bulgaria Open Grand Prix tournament in the year 2008.

Success and top-10 breakthrough

Gutta and Diju won the Chinese Taipei Open in 2009 becoming the first Indian pair to win Grand Prix Gold Event.

Their breakthrough came when Gutta and her partner Valiyaveetil Diju became the first Indian badminton mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold title. They defeated Indonesia's Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa 24–22, 21–18 in the Chinese Taipei Open final. In the quarterfinal, the world No. 7 pair and third seed in the tournament, defeated Korean pair Shin Baek-cheol and Yoo Hyun-Young and in the semi-final Diju and Gutta prevailed over Malaysians Goh Liu Ying and Chan Peng Soon 21–11, 17–21, 24–22.

But the biggest achievement came in the same year where she and Diju again reached the quarters of the 2009 BWF World Championships and became the first Indians to do so repeating the feat at The Championships the following year. The Championships were held at Hyderabad, India. The duo, seeded 8th, got a bye in the first round followed by a walkover in the second. In the third round they defeated 12th seed Polish pair of Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Kostiuczyk 21–11 22–20 in a 31-minute clash. In the quarterfinal they went down to defending champions and second seeds Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir of Indonesia. The Indian pair was beaten 16–21, 14–21 in 27 minutes.

The same year they went on to reach the finals of the BWF Super Series Masters Finals, an annual tournament held at the end of every year where only the top players with the most points from that calendar year's twelve events of the BWF Super Series compete. They beat Robert Mateusiak and Nadieżda Kostiuczyk again in straight-games 21–19 21–11. In the final the Indian pair went down to World Championship bronze medallists Christinna Pedersen and Joachim Fischer Nielsen from Denmark 21–14, 21–18. By reaching the tournament finals they became the first Indians to reach the feat in any of the 5 disciplines.

In 2010 the pair reached the quarter-finals of the World Championships for the second consecutive year beaten by Koreans Ha Jung-eun and Ko Sung-hyun 21–16, 21–19 having beaten the English pair of Gabrielle White and Chris Adcock and Malaysians Liu Ying and Peng Soon in straight games and overcoming Yao Lei and Chayut Triyachart from Indonesia in the pre-quarters in three games. The pair also won the 2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold for their second Grand Prix Gold title beating Lei and Triyachart in three games.[43] In 2011 Gutta and Diju reached the quarter-finals or better at three tournaments including two Super Series Premieres events at Denmark Open and China Masters where they reached the semi-finals, their first since 2009. They beat second seeded Chinese pair of Tao Jiaming and Tian Qing in the first round 5–21, 21–14, 21–18.[44]

2012 Olympics and sabbatical

Gutta and Diju reached two quarter-finals in 2012 at the Victor Korea Superseries Premier Singapore Open Superseries before competing at 2012 Summer Olympics. Pairing with Diju, Jwala lost her opening match 16–21, 12–21 in just 25 minutes at the Wembley Arena in London Olympics. The pair also lost their next two matches and thus could not qualify for the knockout stage. Despite having enjoyed great success in the Mixed Doubles category, she has shifted her focus on to Women's Doubles event since her sabbatical.[45] In March 2016, Gutta announced a comeback to the mixed category. She stated in her interview that she missed the titles she "used to win with V Diju". She confirmed that she would not play alongside Diju but was a looking for a suitable partner and would start playing in April.[46]

2016: Comeback to mixed doubles

In an interview in August 2016, Gutta shared her plans of returning to the mixed doubles competition, without disclosing a probable partner.[47]

Personal life and other works

Jwala got married to fellow badminton player Chetan Anand in 2005 and later separated in 2011

During her badminton career, Gutta began dating fellow badminton player Chetan Anand. The couple married on 17 July 2005 and got divorced on 29 June 2011. The divorce gathered huge and unwanted media attention and speculations about an affair with ex-cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin also came up, but was never confirmed due to lack of any proof of the news and constant denials from Jwala herself. Jwala confirmed filing the divorce but denied that it had anything to do with Azharuddin.[48]

Azhar had also hinted that these stories had been planted by people in the Badminton Association of India, who wanted to tarnish his image since he tried to contest for the presidents' elections. He said, "These are planted stories and motivated by people, who are against me in the Badminton Association of India. They are so upsetting."[49] In 2013, Jwala said in an interview, "I learnt a lot from the marriage but we weren't growing as a couple. A part of me forgot that I too was a part of the sport. I was satisfied thinking that his victories were our victories,"[50]

Jwala has supported some social causes, including women empowerment issues, anti-tobacco and anti-zoo campaigns.[51] She has also been involved in many other campaigns including the Ice Bucket Challenge,[52] Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.[53][54] Jwala also launched the Indian Badminton League's (IBL) school programme 'Shuttle Express' in Pune for school children. Speaking during the briefing, Jwala said: "I am really happy to be here with the kids who are playing not only to win the Shuttle Express but to be the next badminton champion for India. Wishing everyone all the best and I know the Pune participants will make everyone proud."[55]

In the media

“ "Life is all about love. It's a score in badminton, but in both, one begins from scratch, is what I believe in." – Jwala in an interview with the Hindustan Times.[50] ”

Gutta has been listed as the most inspirational sportswomen from India on numerous occasions.[56][57] Her outspoken nature has often attracted controversies from various groups. According to Gutta, such controversies do not bother her as she had been taught to speak up for whats right and take a stand for herself and others too. "My father (Kranti) told me at a young age to fight for what I believed in. I've never learnt to butter up people," stated Jwala in an interview with Hindustan Times. "Controversies don't bother me. I'm not the one who instigates them. But when your name gets dragged into it, you can't keep quiet," she said. She said she is targeted because she speaks her mind.[50] S. M. Arif Jwala's coach said, "This girl, she is there with me since she was 4 years old, from that age she is there with me and one thing about her is that she is the laziest person as far as the training is concerned and as far as the court is concerned you keep her for the whole long day and she will be happy, otherwise her genes might be helping her out."[58]

Gutta has spoken against body shaming in sports.[59] In an interview she said, "I don't understand this image thing. What's wrong in liking clothes or dressing up? In India, there is this image that if you dress shabbily, you are a serious sportsperson. If you care about dressing up, you aren't one. People are under the impression I lead an exciting life but honestly, all I do is sleep, eat and practice".[50] Gutta is also a celebrity endorser and has been associated with several brands and services, also appearing on the covers of numerous magazines.[60][61]

IBL row

A controversy had erupted during the August 25 tie of the Indian Badminton League when Delhi Smashers had threatened to pull out against Banga Beats over the last-minute replacement of injured, Hu Yun of Hong Kong with Denmark's Jan Ø. Jørgensen. As the icon player of Smashers, Jwala was involved in the whole matter, which was resolved after Beats finally left out Jorgensen. Jwala was then served a 14-day showcause notice by BAI for her conduct during the tie, which was delayed by half an hour. In a surprise decision, the Badminton Association of India's disciplinary committee recommended a life ban on Jwala for the same.[62]

Jwala's coach S. M. Arif advised her to file a defamation suit against BAI for going to press without issuing her a ban notice. "This is cruellest joke on badminton and on a player of Jwala's calibre," he said adding that she committed no mistake and hence there is no question of apology. Arif said BFI had repeatedly insulted the player who brought laurels to the country.[63]

In 2013 Jwala was a part of The long-standing deadlock between her and the BAI over controversy that had erupted during the August 25 tie of IBL.

BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta had said that if Jwala tenders an unconditional apology, her case may be reconsidered. Jwala cleared that she will not apologise as asked by the BAI. Jwala's camp points at two potential reasons for the harsh stand taken by BAI. First Jwala was vocal against women's doubles being taken off the competition in IBL. That created quite a stir before the tournament. Another reason was the coming together of Jwala and Ashwini for the women's doubles. The duo had formed a successful partnership before splitting. Ashwini then partnered Pradnya Gadre from Pullela Gopichand's academy.[64]

Blaming even chief coach Pullela Gopichand for "not supporting her" in her hour of need, Jwala said she tried to resolve the issue by talking to everyone in the administration even before the show cause notice was issued. Jwala warned her detractors in her now inimitable style. "I love to play and bring honour to my country. No one on this earth can stop me from playing. In fact, no one should stop anyone from playing. I never thought that they would stoop down to this level."[65]

Eventually, the Delhi High Court stayed BAI's decision to not allow Jwala to play. Justice V.K. Jain told the BAI: "You must allow her to play.".[66] During the whole controversy Jwala received overwhelming support from fans and fellow sports-persons. Throwing their weight behind an embattled Jwala Gutta, several former players have described the Badminton Association of India disciplinary committee's recommendation of a life ban on the player as "ridiculous and harsh".[67] Former national coach U. Vimal Kumar says the HC order has shown Indian badminton in bad light. S.M. Arif, was even harsher saying, "The emphasis on her apology rather than the misconduct attributed to her shows clearly that the BAI has gone off the rails,"[68]

She received support from Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, In a strongly worded letter to Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, Moily said that Jwala was being treated unfairly and if it continues then Petroleum sector may be forced to reconsider its association with BAI as various levels. He warned the Sports ministry be fair to Jwala Gutta or lose funding.[69] The Sports Minister responded to Moily's letter saying that he will examine her case and extend all the support to her. He said "The Ministry is always there to support the sportspersons' cause and we will do that in Jwala's case as well,".[70]

The long-standing deadlock between Jwala and the Association ended with the national federation dropping all the charges against her. The impasse was reported to have ended in New Delhi when Jwala met BAI president Akhilesh Das after the 78th Senior National Championships where Jwala emerged as the Champion alongside Ashwini Ponnappa in Women's Doubles. "I am very happy with the decision BAI has taken. I will be playing as a part of the Indian team in future tournaments too. It will be an honour to represent the country as always," Jwala was quoted as saying to the Times of India.[71]

Awards

Jwala was awarded with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2011 for her accomplishments

In 2011, Gutta was awarded the Arjuna award by the Indian Government, India's second highest sporting honour for her achievements as a badminton player.

Career highlights

BWF events

Result Year Tournament Partner
Quarter-Finals 2009 BWF World Championships V. Diju
Quarter-Finals 2010 BWF World Championships V. Diju
Bronze Medal 2011 BWF World Championships Ashwini Ponnappa
Bronze Medal 2014 Uber Cup Women's Team
Quarter-Finals 2015 BWF World Championships Ashwini Ponnappa

Super Series /Premier/finals

Result Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score
Runner-up 2009 BWF Super Series Masters Finals India V. Diju Denmark Joachim Fischer Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen 14–21 18–21

Grand Prix and gold

Result Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score
Winner 2008 Bitburger Open India V. Diju Denmark Joachim Fischer Nielsen / Christinna Pedersen 8–21 21–17 22–20
Winner 2008 Bulgaria Open India Shruti Kurian Indonesia Shendy Puspa Irawati / Meiliana Jauhari 21–11 21–19
Runner up 2009 Indian Open India V. Diju Indonesia Flandy Limpele / Vita Marissa 14–21 17–21
Winner 2009 Chinese Taipei GP Gold India V. Diju Indonesia Hendra Aprida Gunawan / Vita Marissa 23–21 21–18
Winner 2010 Indian GP Gold India V. Diju Singapore Chayut Triyachart / Lei Yao 23–21 20–22 21–7
Runner-up 2010 Indian GP Gold India Ashwini Ponnappa Singapore Shinta Mulia Sari / Lei Yao 11–21 21–9 15–21
Winner 2015 Canada Open India Ashwini Ponnappa Netherlands Eefje Muskens / Selena Piek 21–19 21–16

Others

Result Year Tournament Partner
Bronze Medal 2006 Commonwealth Games Mixed Team
Gold Medal 2010 Commonwealth Games Ashwini Ponnappa
Silver Medal 2010 Commonwealth Games Mixed Team
Bronze Medal 2014 Badminton Asia Championships Ashwini Ponnappa
Silver Medal 2014 Commonwealth Games Ashwini Ponnappa

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ "Jwala Gutta". BWF. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Narayan, Shankar (22 July 2016). "Rio Olympics 2016:Can Jwala Gutta complete the last piece of the puzzle?". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa out of Rio Olympics". News18. 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  4. ↑ "She's an asset to any team". Sportstar. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Naik, Shivani (6 September 2009). "Orient Express". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Indian Express Group. Retrieved 19 August 2011. Jwala Gutta has squared off against many players from China on the badminton court. As she celebrates the mixed doubles Grand Prix gold she won last week, she tells us about her Chinese connection
  6. ↑ Sharma, Sanjay (10 August 2009). "Jwala Gutta's got the spark – Gandhiji impressed". MiD DAY. Hydrabad. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "My sister is indisciplined: Open letter from Jwala Gutta's sister to SAI". Firstpost. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Nadar, Ganesh (6 June 2012). "'I actually started off with tennis'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Narayan, Shankar. "Know your Indian Olympian: 10 things to know about Jwala Gutta". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  10. 1 2 Sharma, Swati (19 May 2016). "Bonds that last a lifetime". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  11. 1 2 Das, Jagannath (13 August 2011). "Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa: Two of a kind". The Indian Express. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
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  14. ↑ "It is unbelievable, it has been long pending: Jwala". Ndtv.com. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  15. ↑ "CWG gold medallist Jwala slams BAI president". Ndtv.com. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  16. 1 2 "Ranking the greatest achievements by an Indian shuttler". Sportskeeda. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
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  19. ↑ "Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponappa lose Olympic opener". 29 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "London Olympics: Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponappa register 1st win; stay in QF contention". Zeenews.india.com. 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  23. ↑ "Its Official, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are back Together Doubles". Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
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  25. ↑ Rajorshi Das (2014-05-24). "Resurgent Jwala-Ashwini the real force behind India's Uber Cup milestone". Sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  28. ↑ Sudeshna (2015-05-21). "Indian Badminton Weekly #16: India Exit Sudirman Cup Early". Sportsrediscovered.com. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  31. ↑ "Sai Praneeth, Jwala-Ashwini Enter US Open Semifinals – Badminton News". Sports.ndtv.com. 2015-06-20. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  32. ↑ "Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa defeat Dutch top seeds to lift Canada Open". The Indian Express. 2015-06-29. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  33. ↑ "At least now, govt should support us: Jwala Gutta". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  36. ↑ "Badminton rankings: Saina regains World No 1 spot, Jwala-Ashwini break into top 10". M.firstpost.com. 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  38. ↑ "Hyderabad Hunters". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  39. ↑ "Premier Badminton League". Premier Badminton League. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  40. ↑ "Badminton: India thrash Germany 5–0 in Uber Cup to register second win". Hindustan Times. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  41. ↑ "India eves assure themselves of a bronze in Uber Cup". Times of India. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  42. ↑ Kar, Tanuj. "Uber Cup 2016: India settle for bronze after losing to China". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  43. ↑ "INDIA GRAND PRIX GOLD 2010 – General". Tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  44. ↑ "Li Ning China Masters – Draws – XD". Tournamentsoftware.com. 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  46. ↑ "Jwala Gutta set for return to mixed doubles". Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
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  48. ↑ "Jwala wants Azhar as father-in-law?". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2011-04-13. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  54. ↑ "FromRuling the Courts to Cleaning the Streets, Jwala Gutta Joins the Swach Bharat Abhiyan". Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  55. ↑ "Jwala Gutta launches Shuttle Express in Pune – Badminton News". Sports.ndtv.com. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  56. ↑ "The most inspirational Indian sportswomen". Rediff.com. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  57. ↑ "India's 10 Most Inspirational Sportswomen". Silicon India. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  58. ↑ "The China Factor: Top Indian badminton player with Chinese-Indian lineage CCTV News – CNTV English". Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  59. ↑ Malhotra, Hansa (15 July 2016). "Sania, Dipika, Dutee: Indian Athletes Who Smashed Patriarchy". The Quint. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
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  61. ↑ "The Controversy Queen: BAI recommends life ban for Jwala Gutta". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  62. ↑ "Life ban recommended on Jwala Gutta for IBL row". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  68. ↑ "Fiery Jwala Gutta ready for war, says will fight for the good of the badminton till the very end : SPORT – India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2013-10-18. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  69. ↑ "Moily warns Sports ministry, says be fair to Jwala Gutta or lose funding : North, News – India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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  72. ↑ "Jwala Gutta's special song for Nithin". 123telugu.com. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
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