Jwala Gutta today defended her current doubles partner Prajakta Sawant over her dispute with coach Puella Gopichand and wondered why the country's other shuttlers were not interecting with the Mumbai player.
"What is happening with her is really bad. If she has had a tiff with someone then why are the other players scared to talk to her?," Jwala said today.
"She is a good player and if she wasn't she would have never been in the Indian team. But she was and suddenly she was taken out of the team. And the reasons were not good enough," added Jwala.
Prajakta had last year had alleged that Gopichand had mentally harassed her by refusing her entry into the national coaching camp held at his academy in Hyderabad.
Jwala said she will stick to Sawant for the time being and made it clear that she has no plans of once again forming a combo with old partner Ashwini Ponnappa.
"I have no plans of changing any partner. For now, it is Prajakta. I will see how things will turn out in the future and will act accordingly," Jwala said at a badminton clinic organised for students of the Genesis Global School here.
Jwala and Ashwini last played together at the London Olympics. After that Jwala took a break while Ashwini found a new partner in Pradnya Gadre.
The pair of Jwala and Ashwini triumphed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, winning the gold medal, before clinching a bronze at the 2011 World Championship in London.
