- By Namrata Vijay
- Fri, 19 Jul 2024 12:30 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Paris Olympics 2024: India's star shuttler HS Prannoy's body went through tons of illnesses and he also recently suffered from chikungunya but he won't let all this hamper his debut Olympic stint although he is quite late to make a debut at this stage in his career. His main focus is to build his immunity for all the grind that his body will go through at the multi-sport event,. which would be held later this month and his coach RMV Gurusaidutt is helping him achieve that. The 2022 Thomas Cup champion and an Asian Games bronze medallist had fought against chronic stomach disorder in the past and had also sustained a back injury and recently also suffered from a mosquito-borne disease.
"The preparations that we started after the Australia Open, those are on point, we are on the right track," Gurusaidutt was quoted as saying on PTI.
"The best thing about Prannoy in this entire journey is that though he was struggling, he was showing up for training and giving his best. Of course now, since he had another rough patch, it is not easy to get into the winning momentum," he added.
Also Read: IND W vs PAK W Women's Asia Cup 2024 dream xi
Gurusaidut is quite optimistic about Prannoy and revealed that his latest illness won't bring too many changes in his daily routine.
"He has been that kind of a player who steps up on big occasions. He's done that multiple times over the last three or four years. So, as a coach, me and Gopi sir (national coach Pullela Gopichand) have that confidence in him", he said.
After winning the bronze medal in the World Championship last year, the shuttler suffered yet another stomach disorder, a disease which was quite the same to the chronic acid reflux which he had endured in the past. His illness was so intense that it became challenging for him to eat something without throwing up later.
This led to him making six consecutive first-round exits in all the tournaments that he played in last year and also making a semifinal and quarterfinal exit this year. But his resilience and grit helped him bounce back.
Gurusaidutt further revealed that the coaches did introduce some exercises to address all these illnesses, which are mainly focussing on speed and playing long rallies.
"We wanted to introduce a few programs. Gopi sir thought he needed to play longer matches...Based on the last 3-4 tournaments, I particularly felt people were trying to push him at the pace in terms of making him move quickly "...there is not too much time for him to get space between the shots. So that was something that we thought we could make it easier for him in training. Otherwise, it was about getting him confidence, and getting his fitness levels up. Those were the major aspects," he further said.
Gurusaidutt also talked about increasing HS Prannoy's pace and said, "...we wanted work on it to prepare him for somebody playing some sharp shots, and cross-courts. So, it was meant to make him feel comfortable for those things.
So, once he picks those up, he gets into his style, that's where the game changes usually. If somebody is pushing at him constantly, once he is out of that, once he survives it then he gets into his zone again."
Flexibility and unpredictability will be key
Guyrusaidutt, who himself had won the bronze medal in the 2014 Commonwealth games admitted that Prannoy should also mix things up and be flexible.
"We should have a counter when someone is attacking him but also we need to make sure that he's not too defensive. He has to mix up a lot, not be predictable in one style of play", he said.
Want to be a little pressure-free: Prannoy
Prannoy would be playing in his debut Olympics and admitted that he wants to keep things simple and don't want to take unnecessary stress.
"I think everyone just wants to talk about Paris. But I just want to be a little bit more pressure-free, kind of enjoy it a little bit more and just take it as one more tournament in my career," Prannoy was quoted as saying to PTI in an earlier interview.
"So from a preparation point of view, I think for me it's really important to kind of get back to basics...I was not there mentally in a lot of matches. So I think that's what I tried to do and just try to be a little bit more simple and usual", he added.