Veteran badminton player, Jwala Gutta recently had her say on the debate over Prakash Padukone’s statements following his student Lakshya Sen’s heartbreaking exit from the Paris Olympics 2024.
“I don’t absolutely disagree with him. The players like Lakshya literally started playing badminton at Prakash’s sir academy, and Prakash sir was well within his right to say. If he was disappointed, it was understandable,” Jwala said in an exclusive interview with The Bridge.
“When you train with a coach since childhood, it becomes the responsibility of the coach to develop the personality and character, skills and how to deal with pressure since you have been spending more time with the coach than your parents. Hence, Prakash sir not wrong,” added Jwala.
There is nothing wrong in it: Jwala on Padukone’s statement
Debutant Lakshya was still in contention for a medal after he lost to eventual gold medallist Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals. In the bronze medal playoff, Lakshya conceded his first-game advantage to go down to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 21-13, 16-21, 11-21 in 72 minutes.
“He said Lakshya, being privileged, should play with much more responsibility. I think all the players who have been given the support are privileged. I was one of the privileged players. If Prakash sir said the player also needs to take some kind of responsibility there is nothing wrong in what he said,” stressed Jwala, who competed in two Olympics.
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