Olympics 2024| The surprise pair at Paris

The 19th-ranked pair are drawn in Group C with fourth-ranked Japanese pair Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, seventh-ranked Korean’s Yeong So Kim and Yong Hee Kong and 27th-ranked Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu.

Bengaluru: In early January 2023 when Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto decided to play doubles together, their first goal as a pair ranked in the 140s was simple - to make it to the Top-30 in the world. 

There would be a great deal of hurdles along the way, the biggest of them being an age difference of 14 years between the two. Added to this, a ranking outside 100 meant that the pair could enter limited international tournaments that were mostly challenger events. Both the girls, well aware of the herculean task, stuck together and marched ahead anyway. 

Ashwini and Tanisha went on to break into the Top-30 in October last year for the first time. Even at this stage, an Olympic berth looked like a pipe dream. Especially with the other higher-ranked Indian pair - Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand - doing well on the tour. 

With few people giving them a chance to do the improbable, three wins, a couple of second-place finishes and a few quarterfinal, semifinal appearances in big-ticket events saw them take the lead to grab the lone women’s doubles spot available for Paris. 

“Adaptability! All along we have tried to adapt depending on the conditions and opponents. I think that helped,” sums up 34-year-old Ashwini, the older of the two about making the cut to Paris by finishing 13th at the end of the qualification cycle in May this year. 

“I’m not getting younger and despite not having had too many great performances after Tokyo, I’m in this position today. So I’m really grateful to have another opportunity to go to the Games,” says the Bengaluru girl who is headed to her third Olympics. 

The 21-year-old Tanisha, on her part, credits great communication between the two as the catalyst for the rise they were able to achieve in a short period of time.  

“Since day one, we felt comfortable being free and open to share our thoughts with each other. Comprehending everything we discussed made it even better. Because in doubles it’s important to understand and apply what each of us are saying to each other,” explains Tanisha. 

For Ashwini, who partnered Jwala Gutta at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, the new partnership with Tanisha was also a role reversal of sorts. From being the junior among the two with Jwala, Ashwini was now expected to take over the mentor’s role in the new partnership with Tanisha. 

“Though I have more experience, I don’t like overburdening Tanisha with too many of my insights because she is going to have her own experience and her own learning curve. 

“But having said that, I do take the liberty of advicing sometimes because she is receptive and someone who is a learner and wants to get better,” offers Ashwini.  

If it is Tanisha’s speed, movement and her explosiveness at the net that Ashwini says complements her game, the senior pro’s composed nature and her attacks from the back of the court spur Tanisha, says the younger half of the pair. 

The duo, similar to the road they have taken to make it this far, has a rocky stretch to wade through before the quarterfinal stage at the French capital. 

The 19th-ranked Ashwini and Tanisha are drawn in Group C with fourth-ranked Japanese pair Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, seventh-ranked Korean’s Yeong So Kim and Yong Hee Kong and 27th-ranked Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu.  “This has been a great journey for both of us so far. We will give our best in Paris,” says Ashwini.