DNA Exclusive: I still feel pain while training, hope to be fine before Asian Games, says HS Prannoy

The rise of badminton in India has sky-rocketed in the last few years. The common thread binding the top players is India's ace coach, Pullela Gopichand. 

While the likes of PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth are star shuttlers in the country now, they have had the company of another face that is slowing making his way upwards in the sport - Kerala's 26-year-old HS Prannoy.

Like most sports-persons, even his first coach was his father, Sunil Kumar, who trained him in the first couple of years. He then trained under a few more coaches in his native city before Gopichand roped him in his academy's squad.

Prannoy joined Gopichand's Hyderabad-based academy in 2009, the same year he turned pro. In an exclusive chat with DNA, Prannoy, who touched his career-best ranking of World No. 8 in May, speaks about his road to Asian Games 2018.

Apart from a couple of good tournaments, you didn't have the greatest of starts. What has gone wrong?

Yes, it has been pretty bad. Although, I would like to consider the quarters finish in All England Open and the bronze medal in the Badminton Asian Championships as a good part of the season so far. Moreover, when a medal was not expected from me, that’s when I won and that made it pretty special. Anyway, this year has been troublesome with injuries. 

You have nearly missed four months (not together) already this season. Tell us more about that.

I missed a few tournaments when the season began in January. I had got three corns under my feet and the healing took some time. Post that, I returned, played three tournaments before I got injured again. This time, due to over training, I injured my ankle; it was more of a stress fracture.

What extra care do you take to curb these injuries?

I’m associated with GoSports foundation and these guys have been a huge help in my journey so far. Especially in this aspect, they have helped me with customized shoes keeping in mind the consistent nagging issues with my feet and ankle.

The foundation has also facilitated him with a physiotherapist and fitness trainer to work with him in the academy and also during tournaments. Since the last 5 months, Prannoy has been undergoing strength and conditioning training under a personal trainer which is in line with the Academy's regime. He has also been under a strict nutritional plan for the past two years to keep himself on a check to compete against the best in the business.

So, are these injuries the reason for you not winning a Super Series tournament so far in 2018?

Partly, yes. But, despite these injuries, I have managed to play some good badminton this season. I think, apart from Thailand Open, I played decent in the rest of the tournaments but the performances were just not good enough to win me a title. Winning a Super Series is not as easy as (Kidambi) Srikanth made it look in 2017. He won four titles, becoming just the fourth player to do so in a calendar year. But, now when you see him, even Srikanth hasn't been able to get that Super Series win. The competition is always getting tougher.

There have been a handful of Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesians who have troubled you on regular basis. How do you plan to turn that around?  

Oh, yes. See, that's a continuous process. I have been trying to keep a track of what they have been doing this year, what they are pretty good at and what they generally are not good at. Probably, watching videos and doing the video analysing about each and every player is very important. According to me, the big names are a little bit easier to play, because you know them really well. On the other hand, the lesser known players, especially from the Chinese strength who can play well, are even more dangerous. So, that is one thing which I need to be aware of. 

This has happened quite a few times with me. I beat some really good players but end up losing to the ones who are not even in the Top 5 or 10. So, this is something I'm working on. Since the Asian Games comprise just the top two players from each from country, this time that should not be a problem. 

Which is that one opponent who has frustrated you a lot in the recent times?

I'm not so comfortable playing against Shi Yuqi. I have lost against Shi Yuqi a couple of times this year and last year as well. He doesn't irritate me but keeps retrieving me and I have to be really in the best shape and fit to face him. The last few times when I faced him, I was not fully fit as he outran me and that left me confused as to what to play. 

Describe the feeling of representing India in your maiden Commonwealth Games (CWG) this year?

I was just telling my mom the other day, these Asian Games, Olympics, CWG are a different aura, and it feels really good to represent your country on those platforms. I always wanted to play them. I thought I was playing really well, so it was a bit disappointing to come back without a medal in the singles category. 

How much time did you take to recover from the heartbreaking loss in the bronze-medal match?

It took me two days to recover. It was important for me to get back on track soon because I had the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) next. A lot of credit goes to Gopichand because he made sure I was back on track because I had the ABC next week. Just the very next day, Gopichand asked me to get back to my feet and train even harder. 

Tell us more about Gopichand as a coach.

Ah, he used to be really strict. He has got a bit better now (laughs). I think, it's all about the relation between the player and a coach and then the player and the coach-turned-mentor. In the initial years when I was really young, he just used to ensure that all of us stayed focused. He reminded us every day why we were there, what our goal was and why we cannot distract our mind to anything else.

Apart from Sindhu, Srikanth, Saina and you, there are not many singles players who have come up in badminton. Why is that?

There are so many factors which can be considered. Apart from the talent needed, a player needs help from so many areas. And the financial crisis can be one of the major reasons. Since players like me and Srikanth have been funded by GoSports, we have been able to train without thinking of our financial conditions. I have seen so many talented players give up their dream because of the lack of finances.

Do you think you are fully fit for the Asian Games?

I have the World Championships coming next and I have to play there because it's treated as a practice step ahead of the Asiad. But, my ankle niggles have been on and off. Whenever I train, I do feel the pain but the good sign is that I have been able to push myself through the training on the daily basis.