Drills on the badminton court are usual for any player, tyro or champion. On Monday, HS Prannoy spent plenty of time on one more drill, giving media interviews galore on the eve of the Sunrise India Open in New Delhi.
The usual questions were on his own fitness, preparations for the Delhi event, which he has been part of for more than a decade, and what it would be like to finally make the grade for the Paris Olympics. After all, the cut-off date is at the end of April.
In the absence of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty at the press conference, this writer engaged Prannoy about PV Sindhu, her rehab and what she could yet accomplish in Paris.
At stake for Sindhu is a third Olympic medal, after winning a silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and a bronze in the Tokyo Olympics. Just before this question, Prannoy had answered one on the way Satwik-Chirag have rocked the badminton world and become household names.
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EXCLUSIVE: Star Indian shuttlers H.S Prannoy and Lakshya Sen give insights into their preparation for qualifying for the Paris Olympics ahead of the India Open tournament!@gargiraut15 reports.@Pebble_India @BAI_Media #IndiaOpen2024 pic.twitter.com/KnWAfFox5c
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) January 15, 2024
Pranoy spoke about the exploits of the crack doubles combine, what all they had done till now and how New Delhi would love to see them.
Then came the question on Sindhu’s injury and return. Prannoy was a bit surprised initially, but he then smiled and answered. “Sindhu has been around for long, she has seen it all,” he said. “Now that she is back in training after a break, she will get stronger and be ready for Paris.”
Was her experience going to count as well and could she make it a hat-trick of Olympic medals? “Sindhu knows what it takes to win an Olympic medal, has done it twice in the past,” said Prannoy. “She is training again, and her return will be watched closely. Yes, Indian badminton is making news for many reasons, especially the exploits of Satwik and Chirag, but Sindhu has been at the highest level and knows what to do in her comeback and be stronger again.”
The way Prannoy spoke, it was clear the current lot of Indian badminton players are aware that each day at work is a hard one. In his own case, Prannoy said he would take it two or three weeks at a time, though his current ranking of No. 8 on the BWF leaves him in a happy situation. But the big deal is staying fit, winning and focusing on the job in the coming months.
Injuries are bound to happen in any sport, which is why when Sindhu took a three-month break with a BWF-protected ranking, she knew what she was doing. Treatment, rehab, training and now growing in strength at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru, Sindhu will return to tournament play in February at the Asian team event in Thailand.
Some may doubt if she can be the same force and churn out the same game, laced with power and precision. One man who feels Sindhu can be as good as before is Prannoy. As he says: “Her experience counts!”
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