HS Prannoy on a quest for further glory

Watching HS Prannoy in action against Kunlavut Vitidsarn on Saturday was equally delightful and frustrating for an Indian badminton fan. He was the lone Indian remaining in the competition, looking to display a fearless brand of badminton against the best in business in his quest for a podium finish.

It was the World Championships semi-finals, and at stake was a spot in the final to decide who was best, as the 31-year-old from Kerala ensured Vitidsarn wouldn't have his rightful place in the summit clash coming easily. And yet, he surrendered to the 22-year-old's impressive defensive skills.

Vitidsarn, a three-time former world junior champion, clinched a victory with scores of 21-18, 13-21, 14-21. This achievement secured him a spot in his second consecutive final. On the other hand, Prannoy's journey culminated in a well-deserved bronze medal at this esteemed event. Notably, this medal marked India's 14th medal at the World Championships including one gold, four silvers, and nine bronze medals.

Also Read: Prannoy is put to the test when pitted against the best!

"For me, this bronze medal means so much personally because it has been almost 12 years in the circuit, you always want to have those big medals in your hand. Yes, you are disappointed for not getting the gold but the first starting step is with bronze," Prannoy told PTI.

He further added, "A lot of people have done a lot of hard work in the last few years and a lot of things came in place this week. Thanks to all of them who have been working day and night with me so that I can play better and my entire family backing me from home. It is not easy because you are in the circuit the entire year and hardly get time for family and friends, sometimes it takes a load. So these kinds of sweet memories are always good, you feel motivated to go back and work, otherwise it is really tough to do the whole thing."

Prannoy became only the fifth Indian men's singles player to win a World Championships medal. Other medallists in men's singles include Kidambi Srikanth (silver), Lakshya Sen (bronze), B Sai Praneeth (bronze) and Prakash Padukone (bronze). Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu won five alone, and Saina Nehwal bagged two medals, while the women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa clinched a bronze in 2011 and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won a bronze last year.

This was somewhat of an interesting tournament for Prannoy. He boasted of longer rallies with the right execution of shots, with all his matches leading up to the much-anticipated semi-final going the distance. He unleashed perfect shots as he tamed Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo to set up a clash with 2021 champion Loh Kean Yew. Prannoy was in fine touch as he read Loh well and used his array of shots to set up the points, proving to be too strong for the Singaporean. Last Friday, he knocked out Olympic gold medallist and defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark to confirm a medal.

"Viktor is somebody who has maintained a routine consistently and you have to give it to him for conditioning his body to the maximum fitness day in and day out. I'm happy with what I have done. Last two years, I have put in a lot of hard work, which is kind of coming into the game now. My experience is helping me now, so I can play different kinds of games against different players, I'm able to understand the change and adapt to it," he explained.

What about his future plans? "Badminton is a much more explosive sport. There are lots of technical aspects, one needs the entire body to play at the highest level, so it is tough to maintain that speed of the game when you are 35 or 36. There are a lot more young players coming and the room for error is less. If you lose speed you can't play at the highest level," he replied.

Prannoy has ticked nearly every box there in this season. He bagged the Malaysian Masters title and finished runner-up at the Australian Open, apart from one semi-final and three quarter-final finishes.

Labelled as a ‘giant killer' for a long time, the World No. 9, unlike other compatriots, had no big title or medal in his cabinet. He was a force to be reckoned with back in 2017 when a younger Prannoy would dominate the proceedings against the likes of Taufik Hidayat, Lee Chong Wei, and Lin Dan. Sadly enough, a battle with injuries and health issues affected his game as was evident when he was ranked lowly 33 in 2021. However, he turned it around at the back end of that year, winning one tournament after the other. He then returned to the top 10 in late 2022 before attaining a career-best ranking of World Number 7 this year.

"I have been good at pushing myself in training and also backing off when I am not feeling good. Off the court, I have been training for the last 2 to 3 years with Rohan George Mathew, my strength and conditioning coach. So, it is about understanding the body, hence it is a mix of all these things, which has reflected in good improvement in the game," he said. The consequence of the World Championships bronze is expected to be a promotion when the rankings are out but Prannoy, as always, wants to remain focused on performances and not the results.