Hyderabad, August 09: Chetan Anand and Jwala Gutta are reportedly going for a divorce. The Hyderabadi pair — often called the dream couple in badminton circles — is expected to split after a four- year marriage.
Both players are expected to come up with a formal announcement in the coming weeks since they are currently taking part in an All India major ranking tournament in Bareilly.
Family sources told that the mutual differences had taken their toll and the rift was growing all the time.
“ Both Chetan and Jwala’s marriage was going through a rough patch for some time now. Some differences between the two had cropped up about eight months back and their rift was widening all the time,” the source added.
It is reported that Jwala has been ‘ seeing’ a local politician’s son for some time now, which has been the bone of contention.
Despite Chetan’s objections, the doubles star went ahead and continued her relationship.
There is lot of speculation about Jwala’s involvement with that person. In fact, he has been spotted with the badminton player for about a year.
“ One cannot be sure about her relationship with that person.
He has been seen a lot of times with Jwala,” said a regular in the Hyderabad badminton circles.
Family sources insist that the Jwala- Chetan break- up has nothing to do with former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin.
“ If people think it is because of Azharuddin that they are splitting . then it is completely wrong. Azhar has nothing to do with Jwala’s break- up with Chetan. In fact, Azhar’s association with Jwala and Chetan goes back to nearly six years now. He ( Azhar) has got nothing to do with either their differences or the breakup,” the source added.
When media contacted Azharuddin, he refused to comment.
“ I have nothing to say on this,” he said.
It must be mentioned here that when the first reports of the split came up a couple of months back, it was widely speculated that it was Jwala’s proximity to Azhar that was the main reason for the couple’s estrangement.
At that point of time, media trained their guns on the Member of Parliament from Moradabad. It is learnt that certain people who were opposed to Azharuddin contesting for the post of Badminton Association of India ( BAI) president were behind the rumours about Azhar’s ‘ affair’ with Jwala.
So much so that the BAI secretary general had circulated a notice among the various state units stating that those who were ‘ indulging’ in the rumourmongering about the purported Jwala Azhar affair should refrain from doing so.
A source close to both families said that they had got together and tried to sort out the differences between the duo but failed. “ Both Chetan’s and Jwala’s family members stepped in and persuaded them to resolve their differences. But despite their best efforts, the duo’s differences could not be sorted out,” the source said.
Some players in the badminton fraternity recall that the strained relationship between Jwala and Chetan was quite visible during the Senior National championships, which were held in February. “ It was very apparent that things were far from normal between the two.
One could easily see the increasing tension between the two,” said a national level player, who did not want to be named.
Courtesy: Mailtoday