India's doubles badminton star Jwala Gutta is quite the quirky athlete on Instagram. An athlete who is very vocal about her views, Jwala Gutta always speaks her mind. She is not only a powerhouse on the court but also off it. On her 37th birthday, we look at some of her coolest photos on social media. Pictures Courtesy/ Jwala Gutta Instagram
Updated On: 2019-09-07 08:19 AM IST
Jwala Gutta is also one of the most active sports stars on social media sites, mainly Instagram. During the nationwide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, she took to photo sharing website Instagram to post this picture and she caption it: "When dressed...take a selfie #lockdownlife."
Jwala Gutta has been in a relationship with Tamil actor Vishnu Vishal since 2019. In July 2020, Jwala Gutta travelled from Hyderabad to Chennai to be with Vishnu Vishal on his 36th birthday. The shuttler reportedly followed all safety procedures in the midst of COVID-19-caused lockdown. Jwala shared a photo saying, "Happiest birthday baby. Keep shining."
Jwala Gutta is a retired badminton player who represented India in several international tournaments and is considered one of the finest doubles players in the country. Born in Wardha, in Maharashtra to an Indian father and Chinese mother, Jwala Gutta spent most of her growing years in Hyderabad.
While Jwala Gutta's father Kranti Gutta hails from a freedom fighter family, her mom, Yelan Gutta was born in Tianjin in northeastern China. Jwala Gutta also has a younger sister, Insi Gutta
Initially, Jwala Gutta had an interest in playing tennis but it was her mother Yelan who insisted that she focuses on badminton and the rest, as they say, is history. Jwala Gutta began playing badminton at the age of six
When Jwala went to enrol with national badminton coach, S.M. Arif, he recommended her to learn swimming and gymnastics before she starting training in badminton
Her first title was the Under-13 Girls Mini National Badminton Championships. In 2000, Jwala Gutta at age 17, won the Junior National Badminton Championship. In the same year, she managed a unique feat by winning the Women's Doubles Junior National Championship and the Senior National Badminton Championship in doubles
Jwala Gutta has often shown her interest and flair in playing aggressive badminton. Jwala Gutta is a natural at playing front court and has a knack of playing strokes that are deceptive
A unique aspect of Jwala Gutta's playing style is she is the only doubles player to use the forehand during service. Most other doubles players opt for the backhand serve
Jwala Gutta had a good run part partnering with Shruti Kurien-Kanetkar. In 2006, Jwala and Kurien won the Sri Lanka International Satellite tournament and in 2007, the duo bagged the Cyprus Badminton International tournament, Pakistan International Challenge tournament and Indian International Challenge tournament.
In 2010, Jwala Gutta was paired with a young Ashwini Ponnappa and the duo created history when they won the gold medal in the women's doubles at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
In 2011, Jwala Gutta and her doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa created history again as they became the first Indian pair to clinch a medal at World Badminton Championships after defeating Vita Marrisa and Nadya Melati from Indonesia.
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa became the first and only Indian players to qualify in two events at the Olympics. She played in women's doubles as well as mixed doubles events at the 2012 London Olympics. Following that, Jwala Gutta took a temporary sabbatical from badminton
In 2013, Jwala Gutta made her comeback to badminton by partnering with Prajakta Sawant. In the same year the Indian Badminton Premier League was announced. After a controversy hit the auction, a miffed Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa decided to reunite.
The year of 2014, saw Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa resurrect their careers as they won the bronze medal at the Asian Championships as well as a historic bronze at the Uber Cup.
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also participated in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and clinched a silver medal after losing a close match in the final to Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei from Malaysia
In 2015, Jwala kicked off with a semi-final place along with Ashwini Ponnappa at the India Open Grand Prix Gold. In this year, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa made a return to the top 20 rankings.
In 2015, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa exited in the quarter finals at the World Championships. This helped them escalate their spots in the rankings and both stormed into the top 10 ranks for the first time in their respective careers
Jwala Gutta is the first player to enter the top-10 rankings in both women's doubles and mixed doubles categories
On the personal front, Jwala Gutta first dated Chetan Anand, an Indian badminton player. She got married to Anand on 17th July 2005 but the couple got divorced on 29th June 2011
Amid the divorce, there was huge media speculation that Jwala Gutta had an affair with former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin. However, there was no proof of the same. Jwala Gutta herself, denied any such claims
Jwala Gutta has also been part of many social causes and campaigns like women empowerment, anti-zoo and anti-tobacco
In all, Jwala Gutta has won 1 gold, 2 silvers and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games, a bronze at the Asian Games, 3 gold at the South Asian Games and a bronze at the World Championships
Jwala Gutta: Patience is not about waiting... It's about having a good attitude while waiting!!!
Jwala Gutta shared this pic with hockey veteran Dhanraj Pillay and captioned it: Real LEGEND... DHANRAJ PILLAI. Still remember how scared I was of him at national camps in SAI Bangalore..but still wanted to have a peek at him!!! Such a great personality ..and what a humble person.. I wish we all learn from him! #realcelebrityofsports #sportsillustratedawards #myfanmoment #hockeygreats
Jwala Gutta os often trolled online but she does not pay heed. In fact, here's a post to all #dontcarefortrollers #loveurself #spreadlove #positivity
Jwala Gutta shared this photo and simply captioned it: A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose - Tom Wilson #keepsmiling #bepositive #bekind #beyou
Jwala Gutta shared this photo with her mother with an adorable captioned: Am a strong woman because a strong woman raised me!! #mom #momsrthebest
Jwala Gutta shared this photo with her pup and said: The best therapist has fur and four legs #sky #huskyofinstagram #cutiepie #puppylove
Jwala Gutta shared this photo with her dad on Father's Day and captioned it: Happiest FATHER’s DAY pa thank you for making me who I am today...thank you for being my pillar...at no point you gave up on me even when I gave up...even supported me when I wanted to change sport in 2008...and for letting me take you for granted...I definitely lucked out to have a father like you!! I love you!!
Jwala Gutta shared this photo along with her sister Insi and captioned it '@iinnssii kal birthday hai ji tumharaaaa'