We had spoken briefly after he won the 2023 Malaysia Masters, and all he said was: “Boria, let’s speak properly in two hours once I have better Internet at the hotel.” Thereafter, he sent me a long message thanking Gopi [Pullela Gopichand] and his support team for all the work they had put in to make this victory possible. But the conversation was due. And as planned, we connected in two hours. This time, it was a rather long and detailed conversation. Excerpts:
Boria: Has it sunk in? Years and years of effort. First Super Series title. Thoughts?
Prannoy: You are right. The first reaction was relief. The monkey was finally off my back. I was perhaps fighting my own demons. Each time I made a semi-final, I felt I could go on and win the title. But I wasn’t able to. It had started to play on my mind. It was creating unnecessary pressure. In that sense, it is a great relief to be able to win the title, for I can now play much more freely. And what has made the win sweeter is that I had to dig deep each time. At no point was I comfortable. I had to fight the hardest, and that has given me a lot of satisfaction.
Boria: In the first game, you seemed in control, and then he came back well in the second. In the decider, you were down 5-8. Did you feel any pressure at that point?
Prannoy: Yes, there was a lot of pressure. He was playing very well, and was returning a lot of shuttles. He was hitting the lines, and it was the most important phase of play. If he was able to take the lead to say 11-7 or 11-6, I would not have been able to make it back perhaps. Accordingly, it was very important that I stopped him then, and it was the period of the match that I played my best. From 5-8 to 8-8, and the match turned for me. Thereafter, I felt I could control the game.
Boria: And the line call at 19-18. When the Hawk-Eye replay was being shown, I for one was nervous. It was as close as it could get.
Prannoy: When I hit that smash, I was confident it was in. In fact, my first reaction was that the shuttle was in. But then when he challenged, and when the Hawk-Eye replay was being shown, I got nervous. The way the shuttle was traveling, it seemed to me it was going out. But then, God was on my side, it seems, and it just kissed the line. It was possibly as close as it could ever get. And that was the point that helped me close out the match. It made me feel it was my day. And I was able to close it out the very next point. It was one of those points, you see. It happens in sport, and once such a thing happens, you know it is your day and time.
Boria: You lost to Chou Tien-chen (Chinese Taipei) in the Sudirman Cup. Did that make the victory against him in the opening encounter in Malaysia extra special?
Prannoy: Chou and I have played many close matches in the past. And this was one more. In the Sudirman Cup, I felt I was rusty. I was not able to play my game, and there was a lot of apprehension. I learnt my lessons and this tournament, I managed to overcome my insecurities and play much more definitively. I was more confident and it worked for me. I went for my shots, and that worked better. But it was nothing special. Nor was it a revenge match or anything like that. You want to win all the matches you play, and more so when you play for India. I did the same. But as I said, I was rusty.
Boria: Now that the jinx has been broken, what does this mean going forward? There are a lot of tournaments coming up, but more importantly, with the start of the Olympic qualification cycle, a lot is at stake.
Prannoy: Yes, a lot of points are at stake, and in that sense it helps. But I am not looking too far forward. That’s not what I am looking at. All I am concerned with now is the Singapore Open, which starts next week. That’s my singular focus. How I recover from this tournament, my fitness, focus, that’s all I am thinking. There are a lot of tournaments, and you know how hectic our schedule is. So it is not a necessity to think too far forward. You need to focus on the more immediate, and go about things. But yes, the victory feels sweet because of what has happened in the past, and I am sure it will surely help me in the future.
Also Read: “The Big Wins Will Come”: HS Prannoy