Ashwini Ponnappa's Fiery Reply To Prakash Padukone's Criticism Of Lakshya Sen, Other Stars

Venting out his frustration at Indian badminton stars' near-misses in the Paris Olympic Games, Prakash Padukone on Monday said it's high time that players learn to withstand pressure, become accountable and start delivering results after receiving support. Padukone's comments came after Lakshya Sen succumbed to pressure in his bronze medal match against Lee Zii Jia, meaning the entire Indian badminton contingent drew a blank at the Paris Games. However, Indian shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa, a part of India's badminton contingent in the 2024 Olympics, isn't happy seeing Padukone throwing shuttles under the bus.

"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?!" Ponnappa wrote in 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's two cents on yesterday's statement where Padukone sir indirectly gave a stern message to Lakshya and the other athletes. pic.twitter.com/3aDYw0loJT

The former All England champion said India must focus on giving mind training to its athletes, so that they can learn to counter pressure situations.

He also suggested that there must be a system in place, like it is in China, where they do not depend on one player and succeed in churning out players.

"We cannot remain satisfied just having one player. We need to focus on the next line, maybe even the