It all started over a meal: Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto’s journey to Paris Olympics
Ashwini Ponnappa is 34, and Tanisha Crasto is 20. With an age difference of over 13 years, many had expressed scepticism when they decided to team up last year. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games were just a year away, making qualification a challenge, if not impossible.
“We had to play the challengers, so you can imagine how far the Olympic qualification was,” said 34-year old Ashwini.
The fact that they duly overcame the challenge to earn the chance of representing India at the Paris Olympics in women’s doubles still gives Tanisha “goosebumps”. But before moving forward, let’s see where and how it all began.
“It all started over a meal,” said a smiling Tanisha, who will soon turn 21. “We both love food.
During one of our meals together, we discussed the idea of playing together. Our playing styles complement each other, and it was worth taking a chance.”
But it was a difficult decision for Ashwini, who had stopped playing women’s doubles for a while and was on a break. “But as we talked more, it felt like we should give it a shot. And look how it all worked out,” she said.
Their partnership evolved in quick time. “We travelled together because we did not have a support team at that point. We would help each other with our games. We stayed in the same hotel room and bonded at every level. Our off — court chemistry actually helped our on-court chemistry immensely,” said Tanisha.
There is no better validation than success. For Ashwin and Tanisha, it was the quarterfinal appearance at the 2023 Hong Kong Open.
“It was
