Jwala Gutta
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One of Indian badminton’s most well-known names, Jwala Gutta shot to prominence as a junior, and at 17 years old won the Women’s Junior National Badminton Championships in 2000.
With partner Ashwini Ponnappa, Gutta is one of the world’s top-ranked doubles players, and has become known for her aggressive, attacking game.
Although Gutta had had success with former partner Shruti Kurien, the pair split in 2010, which is when Gutta joined forces with the then 20-year-old Ponnappa. That would prove to be the breakthrough the pair needed, and they would go on to win gold at the Commonwealth Games later that same year.
The following years proved fruitful for Gutta, who with Ponnappa won India’s first ever doubles Badminton World Championship medal, only the second time India had won a medal at the tournament.
Gutta went on to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics in both the women’s and mixed doubles, and although she took a short hiatus from the sport following the Olympics, came back resoundingly to find herself in the top 10 in the women’s doubles.
She is the only player to be in the world’s top 10 rankings in the women’s and mixed doubles.
