At the age of 33, HS Prannoy remains one of the most respected voices of the Indian badminton. The World No. 34 comes from a frustrating finish at the Macau open and speaks to Toi about the developing landscape in Singles for men and the need for a stronger domestic ecosystem. Extracts.Go further than the border with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!You had a disappointing finish at the Macau Open. What went wrong? The slower circumstances played a major role. It became very physical after a point. I lost patience and started taking more risks, but it just didn’t click. In the past 18 months, the quality in Heren Singles has risen considerably. Why do you think the gap in men’s singles is narrowing? Everyone in the top 30 can now win a tournament. Nobody is a favorite. That’s because 3-4 countries dominate the field. China alone has 6-7 top players, then you have strong players from the Chinese Taipei, Japan, Denmark and France. You look at a pool of 15–16 players who perform consistently at the highest level. What drives this increase in competitiveness? A big factor is that many of them train together. In the Chinese Herensingles team you often see all six players sparing together. The quality of spruce has risen. The top pair has to perform because four others breathe in their necks. How does it relate to the Indian setup? In India we tend to train individually. Players split up over various academies, both in India and abroad. Training is too individualized. For men’s singles you need that internal competition, where you have a group of at least five world class players who push each other. You are now 33. How difficult is it to do what you did at the age of 23?It is absolutely more difficult. At the time, our training volume was much higher. Now it’s about finding the right balance. You push hard if you feel good, but recovery is crucial. I have reduced running and switched more to bicycles to prevent the joints from being emphasized. Sleep, recovery and planning your routine are becoming essential. I was lucky to have the support of the Reliance Foundation. What are your direct goals?The last 18 months have been inconsistent. I couldn’t close games as I used to have. In the coming six months, the goal is to reach quarterfinals and semi -final consistently. As for the Asian games, I don’t think so far ahead. Do you see yourself going into coaching after retirement?To be honest, I’m not sure. At the moment there is not enough support for Indian coaches. The system is still in favor of foreign coaches. If there is good support for Indian coaches in the future, I would certainly want to return as a coach.
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