Ashwini Ponnappa: I draw more power from shoulder than from wrist

Badminton is no doubt a brawny sport which burns approximately 450 calories per hour. Different body needs different fitness regimen, and different shuttler follows different strategy to maintain the fitness.

The badminton beauty queen Ashwini Ponnappa, concentrates on shoulders; she uses more power from shoulder and less power from wrists, unlike other players.

She said, “Badminton players are prone to a lot of shoulder injuries as we play a lot of overhead shots. We also tend to hit shots at different angles which puts a lot of strain on the shoulders. In my case, because I play through my shoulders a lot more, there’s more risk of injuring them,” as quoted a saying by RedBull.

“To make sure my shoulders are strong enough to strike the shuttlecock, and to avoid injuries, I focus a lot on my shoulder exercises. I have a good strength and conditioning coach, Deckline Leitao, who helps me with my exercises.

“I do a lot of shoulder presses. I find that pull-ups help me too. They’ve played a huge role in keeping my arms and back strong. I love that exercise,” added Ashwini.

Ashwini feels that rotator cuff in the shoulder helps to hit overhead smashes and shots easily. She said, “One thing I focus on when perfecting my smash is to feel the swing as I work through the rotator cuff. For a strong swing and stability in the motion, you need to keep your rotator cuff strong.”

Speaking about laziness and drowsy moments, she said, “I don’t think I can work because internally I’m sleeping.”

“But to me, it’s important to have no excuses if I want to be fit.”

Ashwini observes that fitness is very important as a player need to cope up with a lot of injuries. “I make sure I strengthen the areas that are most prone to injuries; like knees, achilles tendon, shoulders, lower back and wrist,” she said, “Yet, one gets injured no matter what.”