JOIN USShuttler Ashwini Ponappa is all set to move back to Bangalore, a place which the Olympian feels is more conducive for training and playing badminton than Hyderabad where she is living at the moment.
"I am shifting my base to Bangalore as my father, who is a RBI official, is moving back to the city. I am more comfortable playing and training in Bangalore than Hyderabad due to the very good facilities available at Karnataka Badminton Association (KBA)," he told reporters after being offered honorary life membership of KBA here.
Talking about her next assignment, Ashwini said she has teamed up with Pradnya Gadre to play in a Malaysian tournament and for which she has been putting in a lot of hard work with her coach Tom John in the city.
Ashwini said she and Pradnya would be leaving for Malaysia on January 12, but before that she is flying down to Hyderabad to attend the ongoing camp tomorrow.
"There is lot of travelling for now. I will move back to Bangalore and train here. I will also train in Hyderabad if I am there," she stated.
On preparations for the Malaysian tournament, Ashwini said the workout with Tom has been progressing well and he is confident of playing good badminton there.
About Pradnya, Ashwini said her partner is good at nets and both had done well in Hong Kong Super Series and Macau Open Badminton Grand Prix Gold.
"We played well in Hong Kong Super Series though they suffered a 17-21, 18-21 defeat to Thailand's Duanganong Aroonkesorn and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul in Women's Doubles competition.
"We played even better in Macau Open Badminton as we reached quarterfinals after defeating Thai combination of Rodjana Chuthabunditkul and Chanida Julrattanamanee 25-23, 21-19," she said.
Ashwini said she is playing both mixed doubles and doubles event in Malaysia. The mixed doubles is a newball game for her as she will be playing for the first time with Tarun Kona, she added.