Badminton | Prannoy focussing on ‘short-term targets’

The most consistent Indian singles player in the last 12 months, Prannoy, ranked world number 9, won the Malaysia Masters in May and came within sniffing distance of bagging another title in Sydney, before finishing runner-up at last week’s Australian Open.
| Photo Credit: PTI

He may be one of the front-runners in the Olympic race but star Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy doesn’t want to think about Paris right now and is instead focusing on “short-term targets” like breaking into the world’s top three.

“Right now, probably I am in a good position. I had a few decent tournaments post-May but I would say I am never satisfied and I always want to go out there and win big tournaments, that’s been always my ambition,” Prannoy said.

“Last couple of years, I have been consistently able to play quarterfinals and semifinals and now I am trying to make sure that I go that extra one more round and be in the final and win those tournaments.”

“In the coming months that will be the challenge: to get into the top five, or be in the top three in the world, which I have never been able to do till now. I think that is the target as of now. I am not looking way ahead, at the Olympics,” he said.

“Now the targets are much shorter, how we can perform next week or say World Championship or China Open, that’s the only target and the rest of things will take care of itself.”

“I am not really looking into the world championships as of now, I know it is just two weeks away. To be honest, we had three back-to-back tournaments — Korea, Japan and Australia,” he said.

“Japan and Australia were very good, I played some good matches against top players and to reach a final of a third tournament is always tough both physically and mentally.”

“Looking forward to the World Championships, we hardly have 10 days. With a hectic schedule, it is tough to get back to 100% in such a short span, but yes, I will try to get my body ready for the World Championships.