Earlier it was participation, now we play for medal: HS Prannoy

HS Prannoy at an event in the city. Pic/Aishwarya Deodhar

HS Prannoy, World No. 8 men's badminton ace, singles bronze medallist at the Hangzhou Asian Games and part of the silver medal-winning Indian team, said the Paris Olympics 2024 qualification is his next priority. Prannoy addressed the press at an event to announce his collaboration with Federal Bank at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Wednesday.

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"There are about 12 tournaments before qualification ends in April next year," he said while talking about the robust competition in the men's singles category, which makes the path to Paris tough. Prannoy, the first Indian men's singles player to win an Asian Games bronze medal since 1982, has the Japan Open World Super 500 and China Open World Super 750 tournaments this month. Responding to questions about his Asian Games campaign, he said, "It was such a proud moment to stand on the podium. I wish I could be at the centre of that podium though and been 100 per cent fit on that day for gold. We were battling significant problems at the Asian Games with my back injury and players fighting the flu."

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The champ looked at the bigger picture, acknowledging, "huge support from the government, sports bodies and hi-tech facilities for training." He stressed that the plethora of badminton courts and academies cannot solely ensure a future generation of champions. "We need a system in place for that. Like, the top players should be able to compete against each other regularly. I, for instance, was competing against at least 15 top players regularly. We also need more prize money for U-13, U-16, U-19 tourneys. Youngsters should at least be able to recover their travel fare and expenses from the prize money, which is not happening now. The transition from junior to senior is extremely tough. The ages from 19 to 23 are very difficult and it is in these four years that some players quit," he explained. Prannoy ended on a rousing note, recalling, the Asian Games, "Whenever we won medals in a new sport, there was immense joy. Earlier, it was more about participation, now, we go into these competitions to medal."