India's veteran badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa broke down in tears as she announced that her Olympic career has come to an end and she won't be seen in action at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Ponnappa and her women's doubles partner Tanisha Crasto crashed out of the Paris Olympics following their 15-21 10-21 loss to Australia's Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu in their final Group C game on Tuesday, July 30.
Ponnappa and Crasto struggled badly in Paris. Their campaign began with a loss at the hands of South Korea's Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong. They then went down to Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan 21-11 and 21-12.
"This will be my last, but Tanisha has a long way to go," said Ponnappa, when asked whether she aims to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
"It takes a toll emotionally and mentally, I can't go through this again. It is not easy, you can take all these if you are a little younger. Having played for so long, I can't take it anymore," she added.
Ponnappa mentioned that Crasto and herself tried really hard for a win but it was just not meant to be.
"We wanted to get a win today. As much as we would have liked the outcome to be different and better, the biggest takeaway I and Tanisha had is we had quite a journey, getting to in the Olympics. It has not been easy," said Ashwini.
Crestfallen after losing all three matches, Tanisha also got emotional and said that Ashwini motivated her and was her "biggest support" in Paris.
"She (Ashwini) has been my biggest support here. We had wanted a better result and held out heads high. She motivated me every time.
Ashwini's playing career began in 2001 with her first-ever national title. She formed a really good pairing with Jwala Gutta. Together the Indian duo won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, bronze at the Uber Cup (2014, 2016) and a bronze at the Asian Championships (2014).
The biggest moment of their careers came in 2011 when they became the first Indian pair to win a bronze at the World Championships. They eventually crashed out of the semis following a 21-14, 21-16 loss to Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei of China.
