"The focus has always been on the fitness" - HS Prannoy on preparations ahead of Badminton Asia Championships 2023

Ace Indian shuttler HS Prannoy, who is India's highest-ranked men's singles player, was recently announced to lead the Indian contingent at the Sudirman Cup alongside PV Sindhu.

With his fierce competitive spirit, powerful strokes, and exceptional agility, the World No. 9 has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting players to watch on the court. Over the years, he has faced numerous challenges and setbacks, but has always persevered with his unwavering dedication and passion for the sport.

From his early beginnings as a young player in Kerala to his rise as one of the top-ranked players in the world, Prannoy's journey has been nothing short of inspiring to one and all.

As the 30-year old gears up for the Badminton Asia Championships 2023, he'll be one of the key figures to watch out for at the prestigious event. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Prannoy has opened up about the rising expectations of fans, how he's preparing for the marquee tournament and what the future holds for the sport in India. Here are the excerpts:

Q: You are one of the only seeded Indians in the men's singles category going into the tournament. How high will the expectations be and how do you manage them?

A: To be frank, I think the expectations side is always tough because you are playing 20 tournaments a year. It's tough to keep up to the expectations every time because people always think that you ought to perform when you are seeded high. If you look at the men's singles, in the last year or so, you've seen a lot of unseeded players going out there and winning tournaments. Someone who is ranked in their 30s is also beating the top-ranked players.

So when you look at the men's singles section, it is a very wide open category. There have been multiple different winners in each tournament and I don't think you have seen any particular singles player going out there and winning two/three tournaments in a row. I think that shows how much depth there is and how unpredictable it is.

Q: One particular aspect of the game you've been training hard on to achieve before the tournament commences?

A: The focus is not really on the Badminton Asia Championships because it is really tough to peak at a particular tournament considering the number of tournaments that we are playing. There might be small injury issues between tournaments so you have to address that and move onto the next. The basic idea of preparing for the tournaments is to look into how consistently you can play the entire year.

So the focus has always been on the fitness side and obviously keeping the mental freshness also, because starting in May, there's going to be a lot more tournaments than usual so it's very important to be mentally motivated.

I took a little bit of a break and didn't play as many tournaments until now. I needed that break so I could really focus back and really work for the next few months because they are an important few months that are coming up. For the Asia Badminton Championships, there hasn't been anything in particular I've been working on, it has just been general training which we have been focusing on.

Q: How important will this tournament be as we look towards some future major tournaments such as the Asian Games and the Olympics?

A: In badminton, it's not like other sports where you play only one tournament every two or three months and you peak at the right time. Before the Asian Games too, we have 10 tournaments lined up. It's really early to think that these tournaments are going to be important for the Asian Games and the Olympics as well.

The first thing is to be physically fit to play all these tournaments. Personally, I don't rank any tournaments. Each and every tournament is important. The Asia Badminton Championships is always important - it is a very big and tough tournament as you play against the best in Asia and the draws are really tough. It's been a Super 1000 event since last year too now, so it holds big points.

Q: One player apart from yourself whom you expect to do very well in men's singles at the Badminton Asia Championships.

A: It's just a very wide open category and you just keep getting surprises in the men's singles department where you see a lot of seeded players going out in the first round. It's a very tricky place to be in. Priyanshu (Rajawat) is also going out there and winning a Super 300 so you can see the amount of competition out there. I think that each round is very interesting and surprising, you just have to be at your very best on that day or you are going to be struggling.

Q: How difficult is it to plan against players you have not faced in the past?

A: It's always tricky as they will have a lot of input on us to see how we play. But for us, it's never easy to play new players who are much younger. They are much faster and you have to really tackle these players mentally. So you have to be fast, you have to be tough, otherwise even if you are lagging by five or 10% then you probably don't stand a chance. You really have to be on your toes each and every day to beat these players.

Q: Indian badminton has started gaining a lot of following in the recent past. Any message for the fans?

A: Yes, I think in the last decade there has been a lot of following for the sport. I think a lot of credit goes to the fans because they have been continuously following the sport and continuously interested in investing their time to see the sport and that's how the sport grows. We have a very interesting 2-3 years coming up. We'll also have a lot of young players also coming up in the next few years, which will be interesting. I hope the fans continue to support us because it's always an extra boost for us players. I hope they always have our backs.