Jwala Gutta slams BAI President
Indian badminton player Jwala Gutta said she was annoyed with the way the President of Badminton Association of India (BAI), VK Verma, ignored them after she and her doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa won the 37th gold here on Thursday in the Commonwealth Games.
Shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa beat the top seeded pair of Shinta Mulia Sari and Lei Yao from Singapore by 21-16, 21-19 margin to clinch the badminton women?s double gold medal.
Gutta said that she was not happy with the fact that Verma was present at the venue and saw their match but did not congratulate the Indian pair after the match completed, triggering a new controversy on the day when the Indian shuttlers made India extremely proud by their performance.
?The president (VK Verma) was sitting today and did not even congratulate. I am not happy with the things in BAI,? Jwala said.
“Everyone who had talked negative about me, this is an answer,” she added, referring to the gold medal.
Meanwhile, V.K. Verma said that the he could not reach near the performers due to the tight security at the venue where the badminton event took place on Thursday.
“We clapped and clapped. Owing to security we could not reach near,? Verma said.
?The entire BAI is proud of all of them. There is no issue at all. Every gold medal is special to us and India. We were cheering and cheering. The whole BAI was here cheering. We have full support for them,” he added.
It was a proud moment for India on Thursday as the Indian women shuttlers played well to add two gold medals and help India finish at the second spot of the medals tally.
Besides Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa who won the first badminton women?s double gold medal for India, Saina Nehwal also created history by becoming the first ever Indian woman to win the CWG badminton gold medal.
But amidst all these good news, the controversy that emerged in the world of Indian badminton on Thursday surely affected the joy that the players had brought in the hearts of each and every Indian.