If national badminton champion Chetan Anand’s visage has got you believing that a tumultuous year has been put behind, his vocal partner-in-life Jwala Gutta will have you believe otherwise.

A “troubled” year in Indian badminton saw the two — along with Shruti Kurien — dragged into, what Jwala now terms, “unnecessary controversy” when they were asked to forego participation at the Super Series in Singapore and Indonesia for national camps, which they resisted as a “matter of their right.” It was reported that Chetan, Jwala and Shruti had refused to attend the national camp under P Gopichand, who insisted on shuttlers working on their fitness ahead of the season.

“The past is behind me and I’m only concentrating on my game ahead. The matter is past, dead and buried. I’m work hard on earning an Olympic berth, especially since my rankings have taken a dip. I was world No 21, and was playing well when I had the opportunity to play in the main draw of the Super Series,” said Chetan.

“It took a lot of time for the people in-charge to understand our point of view, and by then it was too late,” he said. To make it to Beijing, Chetan has to ensure standout performances at the upcoming Indian Open in Hyderabad, and the Asian Championships that follow — the only two qualifying tournaments left to compete for a place at the Olympics.

Where Chetan stops, is from where Jwala takes a candid conversation forward. “Neither of us had refused to participate in the camp. But to stop us from entering those events and not understand the point of view of the players was never right,” she seethed, ruing precious points lost by her husband in the bargain.

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