'Prakash sir well within his right to criticise Lakshya': Jwala Gutta

Jwala Gutta, the legendary Indian women's doubles player, weighed in on the debate over Prakash Padukone's statements following his ward Lakshya Sen's heartbreaking exit from the Paris Olympics 2024.

"I don't absolutely disagree with him. The players like Lakshya literally started playing badminton at Prakash's sir academy, and Prakash sir was well within his right to say. If he was disappointed it was understandable," Jwala said in an exclusive interview with The Bridge.

"When you train with a coach since childhood, it becomes the responsibility of the coach to develop the personality and character, skills and how to deal with pressure since you have been spending more time with the coach than your parents. Hence, Prakash sir not wrong," added Jwala.

"He said Lakshya, being privileged, should play with much more responsibility. I think all the players who have been given the support are privileged. I was one of the privileged players. If Prakash sir said the player also needs to take some kind of responsibility there is nothing wrong in what he said," stressed Jwala, who competed in two Olympics.

Debutant Lakshya was still in contention for a medal after he lost to eventual gold medallist Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals.

In the bronze medal playoff, on Monday, Lakshya conceded his first-game advantage to go down to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 in 72 minutes.

After his loss, Lakshya said, "My journey at the Paris 2024 Olympics has been both an honour and a heartbreak. I gave my all, and fought with every ounce of strength, but fell just short of the podium. I am very grateful to all the supporters for their unwavering support."

What did Padukone say?

But Padukone was not impressed, he said, "I think it is high time that players also take responsibility. At least for the results in this Olympics and the previous one, you cannot hold the federations and government responsible for the results."

"They have all done whatever they can. Ultimately the responsibility is on the players to go and deliver when it matters the most," Padukone remarked.

Padukone also said he and Vimal Kumar are unhappy with Lakshya's fourth-place finish.

"Vimal and I are not happy with the fourth position of Lakshya. He could have gotten a medal. Had he lost comfortably, it would have been a different issue. But to have come this far, to have taken the lead, I know he is young, but he cannot give this as an excuse. Take responsibility and work harder," Padukone uttered.

The debate

Since Padukone's public outburst, the netizens have been divided, with some supporting the former India All England Open champion while others disagreeing with his remarks.

Women's doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa, who competed at the Paris Olympics 2024, disapproved of Padukone's statements. But Jwala, taking to Twitter, countered her former doubles partner.

Jwala, backing Padukone, said, "Whoever has been supported by the goverment and federations, they are getting a lot more support compared to what we got. That's why he said players need to take more responsibility."

"I think Padukone sir meant it in a general way, and as a coach, he was disappointed with Lakshya's game. It was completely understandable," added Jwala, who won the 2011 World Championships bronze medal with Ponnappa.

'I empathise with players'

Asked about Indian badminton players' failure to win a medal at the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, Jwala said, "Being a badminton player I have been in their place, so I completely empathise with them."

Indian shuttlers, including two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, the third-seeded men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, exited the Paris Olympics following their defeats in the quarterfinals.

Later, Lakshya, the last Indian shuttler standing in Paris 2024, fell in the bronze medal playoff after showing bright promise.

"I understand the expectations associated with the star players. I understand that people are disappointed. But you cannot predict such things. Who does not want to win even a person who does not know badminton and is not a professional player, you put him against world champions, he wants to win. The thing is the opponents are also watching you and preparing for the games," said Jwala.

"I am sure they will go back, introspect, and come back stronger in the next coming tournaments and give fans a lot of reasons to cheer," stated Jwala.