All those lined up to take on H.S. Prannoy, who won his maiden bronze in the World Championship, in the coming tournaments may be in for a surprise element as his travelling coach R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt revealed they would be working really hard to come up with a few new strokes in the armoury of Prannoy to keep the winning momentum going on.
“Well, we are pleased to say that a couple of strokes which we tried in the Worlds did work out. Though I will not be explaining in detail for obvious reasons, for each tournament the effort will be there to provide that ‘shock’ to the opponent,” Guru Sai informed in a chat with The Hindu from Copenhagen.
“To be honest, in the World Championship, we never thought of winning a bronze or a silver. The focus was to understand the conditions, the opponent and the kind of strategy to be adopted on the given day. This process really helped us,” he said. “Importantly, Prannoy has figured out that the longer he keeps the opponent on the court, he is getting better,” he added.
“We were delighted at the way Prannoy handled the pressure in the quarterfinal in facing the home crowd favourite Viktor Axelsen, who is the reigning Olympic and world champion. The way he stepped up for the occasion augurs great for Indian badminton,” the 32-year-old former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist said.
“Yes, we must confess that physical aspects played a major part in the semifinal loss to World No. 3 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand . It is never easy at this level to play three back-to-back matches lasting three sets each and two of them mentally and physically draining. Definitely, Prannoy slowed down a bit in the middle of the second game,” he said.
“Definitely, we both understand each other better and to be very honest, he is getting better and better with each tournament ever since he won the Malaysia Masters in June this year. In fact, the process has been on for close to one year and it is now that the results are showing,” Guru Sai explained.
“I am grateful to Gopi sir for the kind of discussion he has been engaging both of us and the freedom he is giving us to express ourselves. It is proving to be too good for Prannoy also. His invaluable inputs from him played a major role for sure,” the former Commonwealth Youth Games gold medallist said.
“This bronze is a huge thing for Indian badminton, particularly ahead of the Asian Games next month. Prannoy is determined to keep improving. He knows his body, the conditions and the strategy better now,” Guru Sai said.
“Overall it has been a great experience for me also as it was my first World championship too as I have never qualified as a player. We hope to keep getting better with each tournament,” he signed off.
