‘Can’t push player under bus… why aren’t coaches responsible?’ Ashwini Ponnappa responds to Prakash Padukone’s comments

After Lakshya Sen’s loss in the bronze medal game on Monday brought down the curtains on a medal-less performance for the Indian badminton contingent, legendary coach Prakash Padukone did not hold back in his analysis, asking players to ‘introspect’ and question themselves whether they had ‘doing enough’ to win an Olympic medal.

“At least for 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 players to go and deliver when it matters the most. The players need to introspect, and not just keep asking for more from the federations. They need to ask themselves whether they are working hard enough, because all of these players have their own physios and all the facilities. I don’t think any other country, including the US, has so many facilities. Maybe, you know, the players are not working hard enough. Maybe, it is not enough to get a medal at the Olympics. So you (players) need to work also,” Prakash Padukone had said right after Lakshya Sen squandered an early advantage to lose his bronze-medal playoff on Monday.

Now, Indian badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa, who was part of the Indian contingent has responded to Prakash Padukone’s comments.

“Disappointing to see this. If a player wins, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to take credit, and if they lose, it’s just the player’s fault?!” Ashwini Ponnappa wrote on an Instagram story. “Why aren’t coaches held responsible for lack of preparation and getting the player ready? They are the first ones to take credit for wins; why not take responsibility for their players’ losses as well? At the end of the day, winning takes team effort and losing is also the team’s responsibility. You can’t suddenly push the player under the bus and blame it all on the player.”

Ashwini Ponnappa, partnering Tanisha Crasto, had competed in the women’s doubles competition at Paris 2024. After the duo’s campaign ended in the group stages, Ashwini Ponnappa had announced that Paris 2024 was her last appearance at the Olympics Games.

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