Ashwini Ponnappa is one of India’s most well-known badminton players.
Her iconic gold medal in women’s doubles at the 2010 Commonwealth Games has been one of India’s greatest achievements in world badminton and what put her on the map at an early stage of her career.
Since then, she has gone on to win multiple gold medals at the South Asian Games, silver at multiple CWG events, and bronze at the World Championships and Asian Championships of badminton. She mostly competes in women’s doubles and mixed doubles, so her training is heavily focused on her approach to her body as well as working with a partner.
Here she speaks about how fitness has impacted specific aspects of her game, how her dedication to fitness helps her perform her best, and what targets she has set for herself in the next few months.
How fitness impacts badminton
Ashwini says that fitness is extremely important in badminton, using the example of the events that she competes in most – women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
“My personal fitness level affects my sport and my game tremendously because I need to be physically fit in order to be able to give my best for myself and my partner,” says Ashwini.
“If I'm physically unfit, that means I'm mentally not sure. That means physically I can't give my best for the partnership, which hinders our game and our performance. So my individual personal fitness is very, very important and that's something that I really focus on,” she adds.
Since most elite Indian shuttlers train together, Ashwini always tries to make sure her game is better than anyone else in the camp. And her personal fitness helps with that.
“It's really important for me to individualize my fitness training because I also train at a national centre, which has a lot of youngsters aged 19 and below. It's really important for me to be able to match their game. And the only way I can do that is if I'm physically fit,” says Ashwini.
When Ashwini kicked fitness into high gear
She emphasizes that her fitness journey since 2010 has been about what her body needs, rather than the approach of most athletes who do things because they have to do it or because they should do it for their sport. Her focus is on addressing the needs of her body from a fitness perspective.
“I started with my individual fitness programmes in 2010, when I had an issue in my back. Until that point, I was training just as everyone else in the national camp was doing. But then my back problem was very bad and I was advised not to run. That's when I realized that I needed to do something that's more individual for my sport and my needs, to help my body specifically,” she says.
Asked if her fitness objective is about staying injury free or sustaining the longevity of her career or being able to perform her best on court, Ashwini said her fitness approach is three-pronged.
“I would say all three at this point of time. Stay injury free, increase the length of my career and performing my best on court; all three are really important for me,” says Ashwini.
“I feel like being smart with my approach with fitness is one of the key aspects of achieving my objectives. Because if I'm not smart and I break my body, that would mean the end of my career. And I would have lost out on my objectives. I can't really afford to do that. I can't really take a chance with my physical fitness, and that's something that I wouldn't compromise,” she continues.
Types of fitness that Ashwini focuses
Ashwini works with Deckline Leitao for her fitness training, addressing the needs of her sport through fitness. Her focus areas tend to be muscle strength, endurance, and anaerobic training.
“Badminton is a sport that requires your entire body to be strong; you need your core strength, back strength, arm strength, leg strength, forearms, wrists, fingers. So it’s like an all-body kind of game,” says Ashwini.
“When I’m doing strength and conditioning, I’m also improving my muscle endurance. For anaerobic fitness, I stick to playing and doing drills on court to improve my stamina,” she adds.
In 2016, Ashwini was hit with dengue, and it took a huge toll on her body. She would have niggling aches and pains. It progressed to a point that she had unbearable pain in her Achilles heel for which doctors and physios asked her to stay away from badminton and training for three months; part of a slow rehabilitation process. Not wanting to miss out on a crucial part of her career, Ashwini decided to start training with Deckline Leitao. And the new approach to fitness changed her life.
“I trained with him for two weeks initially. It was all just strength and conditioning work; no rehabilitation. The best thing was not only did his fitness regime get me better, I was also able to play singles in the Premier Badminton League. That was an eye opener for me; going from severe Achilles pain to playing singles is no joke. I realized I needed to follow Deckline’s approach fitness because it was tailor-made for what my body needed,” says Ashwini.
Ashwini’s fitness regime
“I wake up at 6:30am and finish breakfast by 8am. I’m on court by 8:30am and start my warming up. Then I’m on court, practicing from 9am until 11am. By 11:45am, I am back home for lunch. After lunch, I rest. I’ll eat a snack around 3:30pm and then head for training again at 4:30pm. It will either be an on-court session or a gym session; that tends to vary depending on what my body needs. My gym sessions are never more than one hour,” says Ashwini.
Ashwini’s most favourite and least favourite workouts
“One of my least favourite exercises is calf raises. I’m not a fan of them at all. The lactic acid in my calves builds up fast when I’m doing calf raises. And also I’m required to do them the eccentric way, which is boring because I have to go up fast but bring my body down gradually. So for me it’s a test of patience and the lactic acid, why I don’t like them,” says Ashwini.
“My favourite exercise is probably squats. Just regular squats with no weights. In my routine now, I do sets in repetitions of 20. I can do three sets, making it 60 repetitions in total. The target is to be able to do 200 repetitions, so that’s 10 sets,” she adds.
“Water, headphones, my mobile phone, a towel, and a Red Bull. I feel like my headphones and my phone are the most important things right now because I’m training with my coach instructing me through the phone,” says Ashwini.
“There are days when I feel totally lethargic; like I’ve woken up and got myself to the court or gym but I can barely keep my eyes open. Those are the moments that I need to drink a Red Bull. And it instantly works to wake me up with an energy boost. Another example is if I have two sessions in the day and I’m feeling tired for the second session, or two matches and I don't feel like I have the energy or mental sharpness. Then in those moments I will drink a can of Red Bull half an hour before the gym session or match,” she adds.
Aspects of mental fitness
Ashwini has tried different methods and arrived at something perfect for her requirement.
“I’ve practiced breathing exercises and visualizations in the past but haven’t really been consistent with these practices. What I’ve found is that speaking to somebody really helps me. I speak with a coach online; Paul Stewart. I started working with him at the start of the Covid pandemic. We talk about the game, what's happening in my head, how to deal with situations, etc. I’m not someone who speaks or voices my opinion a lot, but talking to Paul helps me get things off my mind,” says Ashwini.
Ashwini’s New Year fitness resolution
She is targeting a fitter body through the new year, starting on the front foot in January.
“Getting lean and muscular is part of the plan for January 2023. I had to take a break from regular training during the pandemic and put on a bit of weight that I’ve found hard to lose. So that’s something I want to do. And another fitness target is also to be able to last longer on court with good rallies,” says Ashwini.
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