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Jwala Gutta; family names traditionally precede personal names in Telugu naming customs (born 7 September 1983) is an Indian
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...
player. Beginning in the late 1990s, she represented India at international events in both mixed and women's doubles. She has a total of 316 match wins in both the disciplinesthe most by any Indianand peaked at no. 6 in the world rankings. Gutta has won medals at numerous tournaments on the BWF circuit including a silver at the 2009 Superseries Masters Finals and a bronze at the 2011 World Championships. Born in Wardha to a Chinese mother and a Telugu father, she began playing badminton at a young age. A fourteen-time National Champion, Gutta played with
Shruti Kurien Shruti Kurien (born 28 March 1983) is an Indian badminton player. She along with partner Jwala Gutta won the National women's doubles championship in 2000 and 2002–2008. She was the gold medalists at the 2004, 2006 and 2010 South Asian Games ...
earlier in her career, but found greater international success with
Ashwini Ponnappa Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda (born 18 September 1989) is an Indian badminton player who represents the country at the international badminton circuit in both the women's and mixed doubles disciplines. She had a successful partnership with Jwal ...
. The pair consistently figured among the top-twenty in the
BWF World Ranking The BWF World Ranking is the official ranking of the Badminton World Federation for badminton players who participate in tournaments sanctioned by Badminton World Federation. It is used to determine the qualification for the World Championships an ...
reaching as high as no. 10 in 2015. Gutta is the first badminton player of Indian to qualify for two events in the Olympicswomen's doubles with Ponnappa and mixed doubles with V. Diju at
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Gutta is known for her skilled left-handed stroke-play and is one of the very few doubles players to use a forehand service. Gutta has won numerous medals for Indian badminton including the bronze medal 2011 BWF World Championships in London and a gold and silver at 2010 and 2014
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
respectively in the women's doubles event which were the first for the country in the discipline. Other achievements include the historic bronze medal at the
2014 Thomas & Uber Cup The 2014 Thomas & Uber Cup was the 28th tournament of the Thomas Cup and 25th tournament of the Uber Cup, the badminton team championships for men and women respectively. It was held on 18–25 May 2014 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New ...
held at
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
, a bronze medal at Badminton Asia Championships in the same year and final and semi-final appearances in many big international events most notably the finals appearance at the 2009 BWF Super Series Masters Finals, alongside Diju which was the first for the country in any discipline. Gutta has been credited to have brought recognition for doubles badminton in India, first with her mixed doubles partner Diju with whom she peaked at no. 6 in 2010 becoming the first doubles partnership from the country to be ranked amongst the top-10 and later with her partnership with Ponnappa in women's doubles. She paired with Ponappa at the Rio 2016 Olympics where the pair crashed out in the group stage with two consecutive losses at the hands of opponents from Japan and Netherlands. Gutta has won medals at all major international badminton tournaments and multi-sport events, except for the Olympics. In addition to her badminton career, Gutta has been vociferous for the issues she advocates for, ranging from fair treatment in sports, health and education, women's empowerment and gender equality. She has been listed several times among the top most inspiring sportswomen of India. She was awarded the Arjuna Award, India's second highest sporting award for her achievements. Gutta was married to badminton player Chetan Anand from 2005-2011. She told
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
that she was contemplating retirement, after entering negotiations for a coaching role for BAI in May 2017.


Early life and junior career

Jwala Gutta was born on 7 September 1983 in Wardha, Maharashtra and brought up in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
,
Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...
, to a Chinese mother and a Telugu father. Jwala's father, Kranti Gutta, hailed from a family of
Leftists Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
from Peddapuliveru in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
's Guntur district. Her mother, Yelan Gutta, was born in China and is a granddaughter of a Gandhian named Zeng. Yelan first came to India in 1977 with her grandfather to visit the
Sevagram Sevagram (meaning "A town for/of service") is a town in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi's ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948. After Sabarmati, Sevagram Ashram holds immense importance d ...
ashram, where she translated Gandhi's autobiography and other works into the
Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...
. Gutta has a younger sister, Insi Gutta. Initially inclined towards playing tennis, Gutta shifted to badminton at the insistence of her mother. She was introduced to the national badminton coach S. M. Arif, by her father at the age of four. Arif recommended her to learn gymnastics or swimming for a couple of years before starting training for badminton. Gutta later started training under Arif, at the
Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium The Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, formerly known as Fateh Maidan, is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana. The stadium is primarily used for cricket and association football. The stadium was renamed in 1967 in memory of Lal Ba ...
. Gutta started playing badminton at the age of six. Her chief achievement as a youngster was to win the Under-13 Girls Mini National Badminton Championship held at Thrissur, Kerala. In 2000, Gutta (aged 17) won the Junior National Badminton Championship. The same year, she also won the Women's Doubles Junior National Championship and the Senior National Badminton Championship, both in partnership with Shruti Kurien. This association was to last several years, and the pairing of Gutta and Shruti Kurien won the Women's Doubles National title for seven years in succession, from 2002 to 2008.


Playing style

Gutta likes playing aggressive badminton and has a great affinity for the front court, with her skilled netplay, good anticipation and the ability to play deceptive strokes at the net. She is considered very dangerous in the front court with her good reading of the game and sharp interceptions. She also has a strong smash from the back court and often makes use of deceptive drops. Gutta is vulnerable in a few areas of her game, most evidently in her movement across the court. She can commit certain unforced errors when forced to move out of her favoured positions. She has also had some fitness issues and injury troubles in her long career. Gutta is also known for being one of the only top doubles player to still use the forehand service, since most other doubles specialists opt for the safer backhand serve. She stands unique in this aspect.


Performance in women's doubles


Early years: 2002–09

Gutta partnered Shruti Kurien-Kanetkar during the early part of her career for the women's doubles competition. The duo reached the semi-final round of their second international tournament itself, the India Asia Satellite tournament 2002. They also reached the semi-final round of the same tournament in the year 2004, and finished runner-up at the Le Volant d'Or Tournament, known as Toulouse Open the same year. Further, she reached the Final Rounds of the Scottish International tournament 2004 and 40th Portuguese Badminton Championship 2004. In the year 2006, she won the Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament; while in the year 2007, she won the Cyprus Badminton International tournament. The same year, she also won at the Pakistan International Challenge tournament and the Indian International Challenge tournament. Apart from these achievements, Gutta won the Nepal International Series tournament 2008 and Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix 2008 in the Women's Doubles category.


2010: Commonwealth Gold and breakthrough

Gutta then split with her longtime partner Shruti Kurien due to compatibility issues. She then paired up with young
Ashwini Ponnappa Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda (born 18 September 1989) is an Indian badminton player who represents the country at the international badminton circuit in both the women's and mixed doubles disciplines. She had a successful partnership with Jwal ...
from Bangalore who was called up for the national camp just before the Commonwealth Games. She and Ponnappa then went on to win the sensational gold medal in the women's doubles at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games making history of winning the first gold medal for India in the event. They beat much higher ranked Singaporean pair of
Shinta Mulia Sari Shinta Mulia Sari (born 14 June 1988) is an Indonesian-born Singaporean former badminton player. She represented Singapore in the 2012 Summer Olympics, in the women's doubles with Yao Lei Yao Lei (born 24 February 1990) is a Chinese-born Sin ...
and Yao Lei in the finals 21–15, 21–19 in front of the cheering home crowd and set the stadium ablaze with their win. Gutta and Ponnappa then became household names after winning the medal in front of home crowd. Since, their Gold Medal effort at the games they brought women's doubles into limelight in the country. After the win Gutta at a press conference stated, "It's unbelievable. I think it was long pending for me. I am quite emotional. The feeling is yet to sink in. Ashwini played exceptionally well and we hope to continue the good work, I want to dedicate the medal to my family who stood by me, my coaches, especially SM Arif, Atik Jauhari and all the team members, Gopi. I owe this medal to all who helped me," and added that "This medal will silence my critics. This is my answer to them to whatever happened. I am very happy and everyone who has negative thoughts about me, I would like to say just shut-up now,"


2011: World Championships bronze

In 2011, they came up with one of their finest performances when the pair etched their names in history books becoming the first Indian pair to ensure a medal at the World Badminton Championships. The pair defeated 12th seeds Vita Marrisa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia 17–21, 21–10, 21–17 to storm into the women's doubles semifinal before losing out to the Chinese fifth seeds in the semi-finals in London, thereby winning a bronze in the Badminton World Championship. They had previously beaten
Poon Lok Yan Isis Poon Lok Yan (, born 22 August 1991) is a badminton player from Hong Kong. She competed at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in women's doubles event. Together with Tse Ying Suet, she has received her best competitive results in Women's ...
and
Tse Ying Suet Tse Ying Suet (, born 9 November 1991) is a Hong Kong badminton player. She competed at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's doubles event (with Poon Lok Yan). In 2012, she won the women's doubles title at the Japan Open tournament w ...
of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
19–21, 21–17, 21–19 in Round of 16. Also, in the second round they had caused a big upset by beating the 2nd seeds and former World Num 1s.
Cheng Wen-hsing Cheng Wen-hsing (; born 24 February 1982) is a Taiwanese former badminton player. She is now works as German national team coach. Career Cheng competed for Chinese Taipei in the 2004 Olympics in the women's doubles with partner Chien Yu-chin ...
Chien Yu-chin Chien Yu-chin (; born 24 October 1982) is a Taiwanese former badminton player. Summer Olympics Chien competed for Chinese Taipei in the 2004 Olympics in the women's doubles with partner Cheng Wen-hsing. They defeated Helen Nichol and Charm ...
of Chinese Taipei 21–18 21–18. In a 2016 report published by ''
Sportskeeda Sportskeeda is an Indian sports and esports news website, founded in 2009. It is operated by Absolute Sports Private Limited and owned by Indian video game company Nazara Technologies. The website has news, features, commentary and videos on spo ...
'', the feat was ranked as the fifth greatest achievement of Indian badminton.


2012: London Olympics

She played women's doubles as well as mixed doubles at the 2012 London Olympics becoming the first and the only Indian to qualify in two events in the entire history of the game. Gutta pairing with Ashwini Ponappa lost their opening women's doubles match against the Japanese duo of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa. They then went on to beat the much higher ranked
Cheng Wen-hsing Cheng Wen-hsing (; born 24 February 1982) is a Taiwanese former badminton player. She is now works as German national team coach. Career Cheng competed for Chinese Taipei in the 2004 Olympics in the women's doubles with partner Chien Yu-chin ...
and
Chien Yu-chin Chien Yu-chin (; born 24 October 1982) is a Taiwanese former badminton player. Summer Olympics Chien competed for Chinese Taipei in the 2004 Olympics in the women's doubles with partner Cheng Wen-hsing. They defeated Helen Nichol and Charm ...
of Chinese Taipei 25–23, 16–21, 21–18 to register their first win in the group stages. Gutta and Ashwini missed out on a quarterfinal berth by a difference of just one point, even though they beat
Shinta Mulia Sari Shinta Mulia Sari (born 14 June 1988) is an Indonesian-born Singaporean former badminton player. She represented Singapore in the 2012 Summer Olympics, in the women's doubles with Yao Lei Yao Lei (born 24 February 1990) is a Chinese-born Sin ...
and Lei Yao of Singapore 21–16 21–15 in their last group B match, after tying with Japan and Taipei on the number of wins. Prior to India's final group game on Tuesday night, the World number five Japanese pair of Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa had shockingly lost to Chinese Taipei's Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin, ranked 10th, 19–21 11–21. India lodged a formal protest with the Games organizers to probe if the women's doubles badminton match involving Japan and Chinese Taipei was played in the right spirit, following the elimination of medal hopes Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa but no action was taken. Following the Olympic Games, Gutta went to a temporary sabbatical from the game.


2013: Comeback and IBL

In January 2013, Gutta announced her comeback to the game and partnered Prajakta Sawant since Ponnappa was partnering with Pradnya Gadre and had committed to continue her partnership with Gadre so went on play with Sawant, who at that time was going through a battle against national coach
Pullela Gopichand Pullela Gopichand (born 16 November 1973) is a former Indian badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second In ...
. Indian Badminton League (IBL) was announced the same year. IBL was a franchise league commercially managed by an Indian sports rights management company, Sporty Solutionz as commercial partners. With the brand value of US$1 million, Indian Badminton League was the richest badminton league in the world. Gutta was one of the six marquee players and team captains to be auctioned. The auction itself was not short of controversy. The base price of Gutta and
Ashwini Ponnappa Ashwini Ponnappa Machimanda (born 18 September 1989) is an Indian badminton player who represents the country at the international badminton circuit in both the women's and mixed doubles disciplines. She had a successful partnership with Jwal ...
was halved from US$50,000 to US$25,000, without the players' notice and Women's Doubles event was replaced by a second Men's Singles. This left both Gutta and Ashwini hurt and angry. Gutta was bought for US$31,000 and captained the Delhi franchise, but the team did not reach the semis and finished fifth. Gutta and Ponnappa after IBL confirmed on that they were set to reunite. Gutta went on to add that the two decided to come together because of a couple of reasons. The first was the Indian Badminton League's organisers knocking out the women's doubles category from the tournament, which in turn resulted in the base prices of Gutta and Ashwini.


2014: Asian and Uber Cup bronze, CWG silver

In 2014 Gutta and Ashwini won the bronze medal at
Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...
in April defeating 3rd seeded Thai pair of Kunchala Voravichitchaikul and Duanganong Aroonkesorn 21–11, 21–18 en route losing out to Chinese twins Luo Ying and Luo Yu at the semi-final stage. The pair played a key role in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's historic Bronze at the Uber Cup in New Delhi. The duo unleashed a giant-killing spree as they had to face much higher ranked opponents in most of their matches and they won each, their biggest win came when outplayed the World No. 9 team of
Greysia Polii Greysia Polii (; born 11 August 1987) is an Indonesian former badminton player specializing in doubles. She won gold medals in the women's doubles at the 2014 Asian Games, at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She ...
and Nitya Krishinda Maheswari 21–18, 21–18 from
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
in the first doubles match of the tie. The win took India to the semis for the first time in
Uber Cup The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Women's Team Championships, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956–1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contes ...
history and assured them of the bronze medal. They later participated at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and narrowly missed the podium finish in the team event came up with the silver medal at the games losing put to Malaysian pair of Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei in a closely contested final. The Indian pair lost the first game 17–21, before going down in a well-fought second game. Gutta and Ponnappa had taken the lead and looked good to take the match into the deciding third game. It was their second medal at the games after the 2010 Gold.


2015: Canada GP title and top-10 ranking

Gutta and Ashwini kick-started 2015 with a semi-final appearance at 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold held at
Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
. They next appeared in the prestigious All England Open reached the 2nd round losing out to the top seeds Tian Qing and
Zhao Yunlei Zhao Yunlei (born 25 August 1986) is a mixed and women's doubles badminton player from China. She graduated with a BA from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. She is the first and only badminton player to have ever won two gold medals ...
in straight games. The pair of Gutta and Ponnappa also re-entered the Top-20 rankings after All England. In May, Gutta played for
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
at the 2015 Sudirman Cup as they were placed in group 1D, clubbed together with three-time winner
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. The Malaysian team was buoyed by the return of former world no. 1
Lee Chong Wei Datuk Lee Chong Wei (; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth Mala ...
from a dope-related suspension and that made things difficult for India. India started with a narrow 2–3 loss to Malaysia
Saina Nehwal Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...
and the duo of Gutta and Ponnappa delivered the wins. Gutta and Ashwini stole the show with their determined efforts that saw them upsetting the world no. 11 pair of Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei 21–18, 19–21, 21–15. After the narrow defeat against
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, India needed to win the tie v Korea to progress into the quarter-finals.
Parupalli Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012. He created history by reaching the q ...
and the men's doubles pair of Pranav Chopra and
Akshay Dewalkar Akshay Dewalkar (born 2 July 1988) is an Indian badminton player. He was the men's doubles Indian National Badminton Championships, National Champion together with Pranav Chopra in 2013 and 2015. Dewalkar was the men's team gold medalists at the ...
lost both their matches the onus was once again on Gutta and Ponnappa. They fought hard but it was not enough to topple the Koreans. Chang Ye Na and Jung Kyung-eun won the contest 18–21, 21–12, 21–12 to seal a 3–1 victory for Korea. With defeats in both the rubbers India failed to make the quarter-finals. Gutta and Ashwini then participated in the
2015 U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold The 2015 U.S. Open Badminton Championships, U.S. Open Grand Prix Gold is the seventh grand prix gold and grand prix tournament of the 2015 BWF Grand Prix Gold and Grand Prix. The tournament will be held in Suffolk County Community College, New Yor ...
and the pair seeded 4th reached the semi-finals losing out to Japanese pair of Ayane Kurihara and Naru Shinoya 17–21, 11–21. En route to semis they did not lose a single game and defeated Turkish pair of Neslihan Yiğit and Özge Bayrak 21–10, 21–18 and in the quarter-finals defeated German seventh seeds Johanna Goliszewski and Carla Nelte 21–17, 21–14. The pair next participated in the 2015 Canada Open Grand Prix and seeded third went on to win the title defeating top seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek 21–19, 21–16. It was the pairs first title since coming back together after the 2012 Olympics. The win was commended by the Indian media as the duo were the only women's doubles pair from the country to win a Grand Prix title. Gutta expressed her concerns for lack of support for doubles in the country and prompted the association and the government to promote doubles. Gutta told ''
NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
'' in an interview, "We though big wins would wake up concerned people but it hasn't happened yet. We are still confident of representing India at an international level but here, extra support is needed as we can't afford it on our own. Continuing their good form Gutta and Ponnappa reached the quarter-final stage of the 2015 BWF World Championships. The pair received a bye in the first round and defeated Hsieh Pei-chen and Wu Ti-jung of Chinese Taipei in straight sets. In the last 16 clash the pair stunned world no. 6 pair of Reika Kakiiwa and
Miyuki Maeda is a Japanese international badminton player from the Renesas badminton club and later affiliated with Saishunkan team. She participated at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, and also in three Asian Games editions from 2006 to 2014. Career Maed ...
from Japan 21–15, 18–21, 21–19. The pair missed out on the bronze medal after losing out to another Japanese pair of
Naoko Fukuman is a Japanese badminton player. Career In 2009 and 2010 she became the semifinalist of the Osaka International tournament in women's doubles event. In 2010, she became the runner-up of the Austrian International tournament partnered with Minat ...
and
Kurumi Yonao is a Japanese badminton player. She won a bronze medal in 2015 BWF World Championships in Jakarta with Naoko Fukuman. Achievements BWF World Championships ''Women's doubles'' Asian Championships ''Women's doubles'' BWF Superseries T ...
. The quarter-final finish at the World Championships helped Gutta and Ponnappa jump 2 places in the
BWF World Ranking The BWF World Ranking is the official ranking of the Badminton World Federation for badminton players who participate in tournaments sanctioned by Badminton World Federation. It is used to determine the qualification for the World Championships an ...
, and they entered the top 10 for the first time in their career. With this Gutta thus became the first player to be ranked in the Top-10 of the world rankings in both the doubles category.


2016: PBL & Second Uber Cup Bronze

Gutta began her 2016 with the
Premier Badminton League Premier Badminton League (PBL) is a team badminton league operating in India. Sportz & Live Private Limited (Sportzlive) has the rights to operate and execute the Premier Badminton League. The inaugural season of PBL was held from 2 to 17 Janu ...
, where she represented Hyderbad Hunters alongside
Lee Chong Wei Datuk Lee Chong Wei (; born 21 October 1982) is a Malaysian former badminton player. As a singles player, Lee was ranked first worldwide for 349 weeks, including a 199-week streak from 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012. He is the fifth Mala ...
and
Parupalli Kashyap Parupalli Kashyap (born 8 September 1986) is an Indian badminton player. A former World No.6, he trains at Gopichand Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 2012. He created history by reaching the q ...
. She played in the mixed doubles alongside Indonesian
Markis Kido Markis Kido (11 August 1984 – 14 June 2021) was an Indonesian badminton player and one of the world's leading in men's doubles discipline. He won the discipline's gold medal at the 2006 World Cup, 2007 World Championships, 2008 Olympic Games ...
and Danish Carsten Mogensen. The team couldn't qualify for the knock-out stage, finishing fifth in the standings. In May, Gutta was part of the Indian team for the
2016 Thomas & Uber Cup The 2016 Thomas & Uber Cup was the 29th tournament of the Thomas Cup and 26th tournament of the Uber Cup, the premier badminton team championships for men and women respectively. It was held at the Kunshan Sports Centre in Kunshan, Jiangsu Provi ...
held at Kunshan, China. The Indian women's team was put into Group- D alongside Japan,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Australia. The India team beat Germany and Australia 5–0 before losing out to Japan to finish second in the group. In the quarter-finals they came back from a 0–1 deficit after
Saina Nehwal Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...
lost the first singles to beat Thailand 3–1. Gutta and Ponnappa won their match in straight sets to secure a semifinal berth and the team's second consecutive bronze medal. The Indian team was however beaten by eventual champions China in the semifinal stage.


Performance in mixed doubles


Early years

Gutta has won titles in the Jakarta Satellite tournament and Welsh International tournament in the year 2005, Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament, Cyprus Badminton International tournament and Indian International Challenge tournament in the year 2007, and Nepal International Series tournament, Bitburger Open Grand Prix tournament and KLRC Bulgaria Open Grand Prix tournament in the year 2008.


Success and top-10 breakthrough

Their breakthrough came when Gutta and her partner
Valiyaveetil Diju Valiyaveetil Diju (born 4 January 1981), also known as V. Diju, is an Indian badminton player from Kozhikode, Kerala. He clinched six National Championships title, once in the men's doubles and five times in the mixed doubles. He represented I ...
became the first Indian badminton mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold title. They defeated Indonesia's
Hendra Aprida Gunawan Hendra Aprida Gunawan (born 6 April 1982) is a badminton player from Indonesia who affiliated with the SGS PLN Bandung. Career Gunawan competes in men's doubles with Joko Riyadi. They were bronze medalists at the 2005 Asian Badminton Champion ...
and Vita Marissa 24–22, 21–18 in the Chinese Taipei Open final. In the quarterfinal, the world No. 7 pair and third seed in the tournament, defeated Korean pair Shin Baek-cheol and Yoo Hyun-Young and in the semi-final Diju and Gutta prevailed over Malaysians Goh Liu Ying and
Chan Peng Soon Chan Peng Soon (born 27 April 1988) is a Malaysian badminton player specialised in the mixed doubles event. He is best known for his partnership with Goh Liu Ying where they have been consistently ranked among the top 10 mixed doubles pair in ...
21–11, 17–21, 24–22. But the biggest achievement came in the same year where she and Diju again reached the quarters of the 2009 BWF World Championships and became the first Indians to do so repeating the feat at The Championships the following year. The Championships were held at
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
, India. The duo, seeded 8th, got a bye in the first round followed by a walkover in the second. In the third round they defeated 12th seed Polish pair of Robert Mateusiak and Nadieżda Kostiuczyk 21–11 22–20 in a 31-minute clash. In the quarterfinal they went down to defending champions and second seeds Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia. The Indian pair was beaten 16–21, 14–21 in 27 minutes. The same year they went on to reach the finals of the BWF Super Series Masters Finals, an annual tournament held at the end of every year where only the top players with the most points from that calendar year's twelve events of the
BWF Super Series The BWF Super Series was a series of Grade 2 badminton tournaments, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). It was launched on December 14, 2006 and implemented in 2007. Since 2011, the Super Series includes two levels of tournament, Su ...
compete. They beat Robert Mateusiak and Nadieżda Kostiuczyk again in straight-games 21–19 21–11. In the final the Indian pair went down to World Championship bronze medallists
Christinna Pedersen Christinna Pedersen (born 12 May 1986) is a Danish badminton player. Career Christinna Pedersen is a right-handed doubles specialist. From 2008 onwards, Pedersen paired with Joachim Fischer Nielsen in mixed doubles. The pair gained two Europ ...
and
Joachim Fischer Nielsen Joachim Fischer Nielsen (born 23 November 1978) is a Danish retired badminton player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the mixed doubles with teammate Christinna Pedersen. He retired from the international tournament in th ...
from Denmark 21–14, 21–18. By reaching the tournament finals they became the first Indians to reach the feat in any of the 5 disciplines. In 2010 the pair reached the quarter-finals of the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
for the second consecutive year beaten by Koreans Ha Jung-eun and
Ko Sung-hyun Ko Sung-hyun (Hangul: 고성현; ; born 21 May 1987) is a South Korean badminton player affiliated with Gimcheon City Hall. He is a former world number 1 both in the men's and mixed doubles. Ko is a BWF World Champion, two time Badminton Asian ...
21–16, 21–19 having beaten the English pair of Gabrielle White and Chris Adcock and Malaysians Liu Ying and Peng Soon in straight games and overcoming
Yao Lei Yao Lei (born 24 February 1990) is a Chinese-born Singaporean former badminton player. Early life In 2003, as a 13-year-old Yao emigrated to Singapore under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. Her parents Yao Yiping and Gu Xiaojing were both ...
and
Chayut Triyachart Chayut Triyachart (born 9 October 1989) is a Thai-born Singaporean former badminton player. At the Commonwealth Games, he won a silver medal in the 2014 men's doubles, and two bronze medals in the 2014 mixed team and 2010 mixed doubles. In J ...
from Indonesia in the pre-quarters in three games. The pair also won the 2010 India Open Grand Prix Gold for their second Grand Prix Gold title beating Lei and Triyachart in three games. In 2011 Gutta and Diju reached the quarter-finals or better at three tournaments including two Super Series Premieres events at
Denmark Open The Denmark Open, or formerly known as Danish Open, is an annual badminton tournament held in Denmark and organized by Badminton Denmark. The Denmark Open was part of the BWF Super Series Premier from 2011 to 2017. BWF categorised it as one o ...
and
China Masters The Fuzhou China Open, formerly known as China Masters, is an annual badminton tournament held in China. It became part of the BWF Super Series tournaments in 2007. In 2014 the level of the tournament was downgraded to BWF Grand Prix Gold because, ...
where they reached the semi-finals, their first since 2009. They beat second seeded Chinese pair of
Tao Jiaming Tao Jiaming (; born 25 October 1985) is a badminton player from China. He was the gold medalists at the 2009 East Asian Games in the mixed doubles and men's team events. Tao Jiaming achieved his first major results in 2010 when he reached the ...
and Tian Qing in the first round 5–21, 21–14, 21–18.


2012 Olympics and sabbatical

Gutta and Diju reached two quarter-finals in 2012 at the Victor Korea Superseries Premier Singapore Open Superseries before competing at 2012 Summer Olympics. Pairing with Diju, Gutta lost her opening match 16–21, 12–21 in just 25 minutes at the Wembley Arena in London Olympics. The pair also lost their next two matches and thus could not qualify for the knockout stage. Despite having enjoyed great success in the Mixed Doubles category, she has shifted her focus on to Women's Doubles event since her sabbatical. In March 2016, Gutta announced a comeback to the mixed category. She stated in her interview that she missed the titles she "used to win with V Diju". She confirmed that she would not play alongside Diju but was a looking for a suitable partner and would start playing in April.


2016: Comeback to mixed doubles

In an interview in August 2016, Gutta shared her plans of returning to the mixed doubles competition, without disclosing a probable partner.


Personal life and other works

During her badminton career, Gutta began dating fellow badminton player Chetan Anand. The couple married on 17 July 2005 and got divorced on 29 June 2011. Her divorce gained unwanted media attention and speculation arose about an affair with ex-cricketer
Mohammad Azharuddin Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963) is an Indian politician and a former international cricketer and former captain of India national cricket team. He is the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and was the mem ...
which was never confirmed due to lack of any proof and constant denials from Gutta herself. Azharuddin confirmed filing his divorce but denied that it had anything to do with Gutta. Azhar had also hinted that these stories had been planted by people in the Badminton Association of India, who wanted to tarnish his image since he tried to contest for the presidents' elections. He said, "These are planted stories and motivated by people, who are against me in the Badminton Association of India. They are so upsetting." In 2013, Gutta said in an interview, "I learnt a lot from the marriage but we weren't growing as a couple. A part of me forgot that I too was a part of the sport. I was satisfied thinking that his victories were our victories." Gutta has supported some social causes, including women empowerment issues, anti-tobacco and anti-zoo campaigns. She has also been involved in many other campaigns including the
Ice Bucket Challenge The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyo ...
, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Gutta also launched the Indian Badminton League's (IBL) school programme 'Shuttle Express' in Pune for school children. Speaking during the briefing, Gutta said: "I am really happy to be here with the kids who are playing not only to win the Shuttle Express but to be the next badminton champion for India. Wishing everyone all the best and I know the
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
participants will make everyone proud." In 2013, she made her film debut with a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in a song from the Telugu-language film ''
Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde ''Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by debutant Vijay Kumar Konda and written by Harsha Vardhan. Produced by N. Nikitha Reddy under the banner of Shresht Movies, The film stars Nit ...
.'' Jwala describes herself as atheist. Gutta was reportedly dating Tamil film actor
Vishnu Vishal Vishal Kudawla (born 17 July 1984), known professionally as Vishnu Vishal, is an Indian actor and producer who appears in Tamil film industry. After a brief career in cricket, he started his acting career in the year 2009 playing the lead role i ...
. Both of them posted pictures on their social media, confirming the same, for the New Year 2020. On her birthday in 2020, the couple got engaged. They were married on April 22, 2021 in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
.


In the media

Gutta has been listed as the most inspirational sportswomen from India on numerous occasions. Her outspoken nature has often attracted controversies from various groups. According to Gutta, such controversies do not bother her as she had been taught to speak up for whats right and take a stand for herself and others too. "My father (Kranti) told me at a young age to fight for what I believed in. I've never learnt to butter up people," stated Gutta in an interview with
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
. "Controversies don't bother me. I'm not the one who instigates them. But when your name gets dragged into it, you can't keep quiet," she said. She said she is targeted because she speaks her mind. S. M. Arif Gutta's coach said, "This girl, she is there with me since she was 4 years old, from that age she is there with me and one thing about her is that she is the laziest person as far as the training is concerned and as far as the court is concerned you keep her for the whole long day and she will be happy, otherwise her genes might be helping her out." Gutta has spoken against body shaming in sports. In an interview she said, "I don't understand this image thing. What's wrong in liking clothes or dressing up? In
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, there is this image that if you dress shabbily, you are a serious sportsperson. If you care about dressing up, you aren't one. People are under the impression I lead an exciting life but honestly, all I do is sleep, eat and practice". Gutta is also a celebrity endorser and has been associated with several brands and services, also appearing on the covers of numerous magazines. In January 2020, Gutta taunted
Saina Nehwal Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...
for joining the current ruling party
BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
, however Twitter users criticized her comment.


IBL row

A controversy had erupted during the August 25 tie of the Indian Badminton League when the Delhi Smashers had threatened to pull out from the lot match against Banga Beats over the last-minute replacement of injured Hu Yun of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, with
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
's Jan Ø. Jørgensen. As the team captain for Smashers, Gutta was involved in a lengthy discussion, which was resolved after Beats agreed to drop Jorgensen. Gutta was then served a 14-day showcause notice by BAI for her conduct during the tie, which was delayed by half an hour. In what was dubbed a surprise decision, the Badminton Association of India's disciplinary committee recommended a life ban on Gutta for the same. BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta had said that if Gutta tenders an unconditional apology, her case may be reconsidered. However, she said that she would not apologise as asked by the BAI. Her camp made note two potential reasons for the harsh stand taken by BAI; first, Gutta had been vocal against the women's doubles event being taken off the competition in IBL, a decision that had created quite a stir before the tournament, and second, the coming together of Gutta and Ponnappa for the women's doubles (who did not train at
Pullela Gopichand Pullela Gopichand (born 16 November 1973) is a former Indian badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second In ...
's academy). On the advise of her coach, S. M. Arif, Gutta filed a defamation suit against BAI for going to the press without issuing her a ban notice. "This is cruellest joke on badminton and on a player of Gutta's calibre," Arif said adding that she committed no mistake and hence there is no question of an apology. He said that the BAI had repeatedly insulted the player who has brought laurels to the country. Blaming Gopichand, the chief national coach, for "not supporting her" in the fiasco, Gutta said she tried to resolve the issue by talking to everyone in the administration even before the show cause notice was issued. She spoke with the press saying, "I love to play ..No one on this earth can stop me from playing. In fact, no one should stop anyone from playing. I never thought that they AIwould stoop down to this level." Eventually, the
Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...
put a stay on BAI's decision to not allow Gutta to play at international tournaments. Justice V.K. Jain told the BAI: "You must allow her to play.". During the controversy Gutta received overwhelming support from fans and fellow sports-persons. Several former players described the Badminton Association of India disciplinary committee's recommendation of a life ban on the player as "ridiculous" and "harsh". Former national coach
U. Vimal Kumar U. Vimal Kumar is an Indian badminton player . He won the Indian National title consecutively for two years, 1988 and 1989. He also served as Chief National Coach of India. He is the Co Founder, Director and Chief Coach in Prakash Padukone Ba ...
said the HC order has shown Indian badminton in bad light.
S.M. Arif Syed Mohammed Arif (born 29 January 1944), popularly known as Arif Saahab, is an Indian badminton coach. He is a recipient of Dronacharya Award and Padma Shri Award by the Government of India. Early life S. M. Arif is from Hyderabad, Telangana. ...
, was even harsher saying, "The emphasis on her apology rather than the misconduct attributed to her shows clearly that the BAI has gone off the rails," Gutta also received support from Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, who wrote a letter to Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, saying that Gutta was being treated unfairly and if it continued then the Petroleum sector may be forced to reconsider its association with BAI at various levels. He warned the Sports Ministry be fair to Gutta or lose funding. The Sports Minister responded to Moily's letter saying that he would examine her case and extend all the support to her. The long-standing deadlock between Gutta and the Association ended with the national federation dropping all the charges against her. The impasse was reported to have ended in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...
when Gutta met BAI president Akhilesh Das after the 78th Senior National Championships where she had emerged as the doubles champion alongside Ponnappa. "I am very happy with the decision BAI has taken. I will be playing as a part of the Indian team in future tournaments too. It will be an honour to represent the country as always," Gutta was quoted as saying to the ''
Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...
''.


Awards

In 2011, Gutta was awarded the Arjuna award by the Indian Government, India's second highest sporting honour for her achievements as a badminton player.


Career highlights


BWF World Championships

''Women's doubles''


Commonwealth Games

''Women's doubles''


Asian Championships

''Women's doubles''


South Asian Games

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''


BWF Superseries

''Mixed doubles'' : BWF Superseries Finals tournament : BWF Superseries Premier tournament : BWF Superseries tournament


BWF Grand Prix

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles''


BWF International Challenge/Series/Satellite

''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles'' : BWF International Challenge tournament : BWF International Series tournament


BWF events


Others


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutta, Jwala Living people 1983 births People from Wardha Racket sportspeople from Hyderabad, India Sportswomen from Hyderabad, India Sportswomen from Maharashtra Sportspeople of Chinese descent Indian people of Chinese descent 21st-century Indian women 21st-century Indian people Indian female badminton players Indian national badminton champions Badminton players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Badminton players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic badminton players of India Badminton players at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for India Badminton players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in badminton Recipients of the Arjuna Award