Competition in men’s singles is very tough, many players are capable of winning the tournament: Prannoy HS – Dainik Savera Times

New Delhi: India’s top badminton player HS Prannoy believes that the competition in men’s singles in the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament starting from Tuesday is very tough and no one is a strong contender to win the title. World number eight Prannoy, who performed brilliantly by winning bronze medals in the World Championship and Asian Games last year, wants to win the title of his domestic tournament. “From my point of view, there is the most competition in the men’s singles category,” Prannoy said on the sidelines of a press conference here on Monday.

Ranking does not matter much in this category. Many players have the ability to defeat the world number one and number two players. The first round will be very important for me also. I have got a tough opponent in (world number 14) Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.’ He said, ‘It is my dream to win the India Open title but right now my eyes are only on the first round match. And then let’s see who the opponent is in the second round.

World number 16 and 2022 men’s singles champion Lakshya Sen also agreed with Prannoy, saying that ‘the competition is very tough and every match is like a final. My performance last year was not very good. This time I am eager to perform well.” Lakshya has to face compatriot and world number 31 player Priyanshu Rajawat in the first round. Regarding this match, he said, “We both have played against each other a lot. We have faced each other a lot in junior competitions also. We are good friends. Both of us will try to win the first round match, which is expected to be very exciting. I am looking forward to the first round match.”

He said, ‘Two years ago I won my first Super 500 tournament with the India Open. It is very good to play in front of the audience here. I remember that last year in the second round I was playing very poorly but despite this the audience was fully supporting me. It helps a lot when the audience supports you like this.” Prannoy has a world ranking of eight and is a strong contender to qualify for this year’s Paris Olympics but said he is not too far ahead yet. Thinking.

He said, ‘There is still time for the Paris Olympics. I am not thinking beyond two to three weeks but definitely I want to play in the Olympics. For this, you will have to bring consistency in your performance.” On his preparation for the Olympics, Prannoy said that in view of such an important tournament, your training program becomes very important. He said, ‘Given such a busy schedule, your training program becomes very important. You have to keep the calendar in front of you and see which tournaments you have to prepare for and accordingly prepare a schedule of six to eight months. In December you get one month for training. You have to plan your training well in advance.”

Prannoy said, ‘I select the tournaments along with (head coach) Pullela Gopchand, (coach) Gurusaidutt and my trainer Rohan. Your fitness also plays an important role here. If you are 60-70 percent fit then it is better to withdraw from the tournament and not take risks with your body. There is no dearth of tournaments. Till Olympic qualification, I will try to play as many tournaments as possible and after April maybe play in selected tournaments.” Prannoy said that 2023 was good for him and he wants to continue the same rhythm in 2024. He said, “Personally, 2023 was good for me. I was successful in winning medals in the World Championships and Asian Games but still a lot of work remains. The competition in men’s singles is very tough and you have to be at your best every week. This year my target is not only to play in the semi-finals and finals but also to win the tournament. Keeping the Olympics in mind, consistency in performance will be important.

Prannoy said that India Open has always been special for him and it is his dream to win it. He said, ‘India Open has always been very special for me. I have been playing in this tournament since 2012. I have been playing in this tournament in Delhi for almost 12 years. This tournament getting the status of Super 750 is a big thing for Indian badminton. There are a lot of top players playing in the tournament now so the competition is very high. I want to win this tournament and will try my best this week.” Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu is out due to injury but Prannoy said he has the experience of preparing for the Olympics and he will not face much problem in it.