Jwala Gutta & Ashwini Ponnappa win Canada Open

2014 CWG Silver medalist Indian duo of Jwala Gutta & AshwinI Ponnappa won $50000 Canada Open today by upstaging top seed pair of Eefge Muskens & Selena Piek in Women’s doubles final. World no-13 Indian pair won the match in straight sets with scoreline of 21-19, 21-16. It is their 1 title since reuniting after 2012 London Olympics.

Top seed Dutch pair started 1st set well by taking 3 points lead going into the game break, they continued their good game after the break & were leading 17-14 .The Indian pair were not ready to give up easily as they bounced back to  level the scores at 19. At 19  all set could have gone either way but the Indian combo won the next point & converted the lone set point to take the 1 set.

The Indian duo started 2nd set by taking 5 points on the trot , they were leading by 9 points at 15-6. At this point the Dutch pair made a remarkable comeback & levelled the score by taking next 9 points. But the Indians held on to their nerves to win 6 out of 7 points to win the match & tournament.

2014 commonwealth silver medalist got a bye in the 1 round, in the next round they defeated World no-26 Pair of Iris Tabeling & Samantha Barning in a 3 set battle. They won their next two matches without dropping a set coming into the finals. 3 seeded Indians pair continued their good performance today to lift the trophy.

It has been a good 2 weeks for the Jwala-Ashwini pair, as 2010 CWG gold medalist reached semifinals of Us Open grand prix last week to attain their best ranking of World no-13. In the semifinals they suffered a shocking defeat by the hands of Kurihara A/Shinoya N of Japan.

Indian pair always had the potential to win big tournaments but lack of consistency is their biggest problem, former World championship Bronze medalist has seen quite a few ups & downs in the recent months. Their main aim is to qualify for the Rio Olympics next year & for that they need to do well consistently. Also they need to do well at superseries events where competition is very tough compared to grand prix event & more ranking points are up for grabs.

With two good performances and a win under their kitty they’ll be expected to do well in the coming events especially the World Championship which is due in August. Their career biggest win came in this tournament, when they won bronze here back in 2011.

Their good performance at US GPG & win In Canada Open speaks volumes about their abilities. Without a specialist doubles coach for almost 2 years expecting them to do well at Olympics & International events is not justified. This wins are just because of the hard work & efforts of the players. If associations & ministries support them well then India can excel in doubles as well.