Indian badminton stalwart HS Prannoy has opined that he is not in a position to take anything for granted ahead of the Paris Olympics in the year 2024.
The veteran shuttler eyes passage into the multi-sport extravaganza as he looks to seal his berth before the qualification period runs out on the 28th of April, 2024.
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“Qualifying for the Paris Olympics is the primary aim right now. There are 10-12 tournaments left before the qualification ends and I can’t take anything for granted,” said Prannoy.
“Competition in men’s singles is very high. I need to stay consistent and focus on my training and continue to work hard,” he added.
Prannoy, who has been nursing back pain in the past couple of weeks, is just getting back into the swing of things as he targets a place in the quadrennial event in France.
“I am still recovering from the back pain and have started training again. I am looking forward to being on the Tour again but I am not going to take any risk with my fitness,” the 31-year-old player said.
The experienced shuttler ended a wait of over four decades as he claimed the bronze medal in the men’s event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
The Indian men’s team featuring Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, Mithun Manjunath, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Dhruv Kapila, MR Arjun, Rohan Kapoor, Sai Pratheek K, in addition to Prannoy himself, finished with a silver in the team event.
“The team silver is huge because the Asian Games is a tough tournament. Everybody was charged up to perform well and that is why we got the medal. I wish I was fully fit for the final,” he reflected.
“A lot of things could’ve gone wrong. I was injured, and people were ill but things fell in place,” he said.
“But I fought hard for that individual medal. On the quarterfinal day, it was about how much I can push myself,” he continued.
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Prannoy touched upon how the sport of badminton had advanced by leaps and bounds over the past few years and said that training with top talent increases the rate of growth of a player’s development.
“I was lucky enough to play in a big group with top players. That’s how you learn. It increases the opportunities for Olympic medals,” he concluded.