Indian shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa criticised badminton legend Prakash Padukone over his remarks regarding “player responsibility” after Lakshya Sen missed out on a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Ponnappa in her Instagram story, expressed her disappointment at what she perceived as an unfair allocation of blame towards players. She questioned why only players were being held accountable for failures, while coaches, who play a critical role in preparation and strategy, were not similarly scrutinised.

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“Disappointing to see this,” Ponnappa wrote in her Instagram story. “If a player wins, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to take credit, and if they lose, it’s just the player’s fault?! Why aren’t coaches held responsible for lack of preparation and getting the player ready? They are the first ones to take credit for wins; why not take responsibility for their players’ losses as well?”

She also argued that both victories and defeats should be seen as the result of a collective team effort, including players, coaches, and support staff.

“At the end of the day, winning takes a team effort and losing is also the team’s responsibility. You can’t suddenly push the player under the bus and blame it all on the player,” she added.

Padukone’s comments followed Sen’s defeat in the bronze medal match against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia, which marked a painful end to India’s badminton medal hopes at the Olympics.

Addressing the press, Padukone stated, “After Milkha Singh in 1964 and PT Usha in the 80s, we have seen so many fourth-place finishes. I think it’s high time that players also take responsibility… Ultimately, the responsibility is on the players to deliver when it matters the most,” he emphasised that the federations and government had done their part, suggesting that the onus was on the athletes to perform.

The 2024 Paris Olympics proved challenging for India’s badminton contingent. Despite high hopes and strong performances leading up to the event, the team fell short of securing a medal.

This year, PV Sindhu, who was playing in her third Olympics, exited in the Round of 16 after a loss to China’s He Bingjiao, who she defeated in the Tokyo Games for the bronze, her second Olympic medal after silver in Rio 2016.

HS Prannoy, meanwhile, was eliminated by compatriot Lakshya Sen in the pre-quarters. Lakshya’s journey, however, was historic, as he became the first Indian male shuttler to reach the semifinals at the Olympics.

The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who were among the favourites for a medal, also faced disappointment, bowing out in the quarter-finals against Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh.’

In women’s doubles, Ponnappa and her partner Tanisha Crasto struggled, failing to progress beyond the group stage.