Armed with a Delhi High Court order that allowed her to play in upcoming international tournaments, the embattled Jwala Gutta went hammer and tongs against the Badminton Association of India (BAI). Speaking to media persons, the ‘victorious’ Jwala said she was born to play badminton.
“I have done nothing my whole life except for playing badminton. I will continue to do this and bring laurels to the country. I’m very happy with the orders the honourable judge passed,’’ she said on Saturday.
Jwala said BAI’s actions would not scare her. “Nobody on this earth can stop me from playing unless I want to quit. Playing is my right and nobody can take me away from playing,’’ she thundered.
Going one step further, the doubles specialist said she will not keep quiet this time and said BAI were senseless in their charges. “It is a question of my integrity. My credentials and achievements have been overlooked. No one has done better than Ashwini (Ponnappa) and me or (V)Diju and me before. You cannot question my credentials. I was dumbstruck when their lawyer said that Jwala was not performing for the past three years.
“It was really weird and senseless. If they are questioning Ashwini’s abilities, why are they picking Ashwini? Nobody can replace Ashwini and me right now,’’ she pointed out.
Jwala insisted she had done nothing wrong. “As the captain of Krrish Delhi Smashers and as instructed by franchise, I took the step. Whatever I did, I did not provoke anyone,’’ she said. Jwala said she did her best to avoid all this drama. “It was not at all needed. I tried my best, tried speaking to the officials, including the president (Akhilesh Dasgupta) and Gopichand. I was not supposed to talk to the media. But before they gave me a notice, they went to the media, saying we will ban her for life, which was really uncalled for. I have not committed a crime. I didn’t dope or do match-fixing.’’
Jwala said she was stunned when the BAI lawyer said they would not be fielding women’s doubles teams, especially when the Thomas and Uber Cups will be held in India. “The lawyer said they are not sending a women’s doubles pair to Denmark proudly after what Ashwini and me have done. We have raised the bar and now they say they would not send a women’s doubles team. Why?’’ she asked.
Meanwhile, Ashwini said she was disappointed their women’s doubles entries have been withdrawn from the Danish Open. Ashwini also backed Jwala in her fight against BAI, saying “they were partners.”