"Today was better, I felt a little bit more in control" - HS Prannoy delighted with win against Harry Huang at Thomas Cup 2024

HS Prannoy expressed satisfaction over his win against Harry Huang at Thomas Cup 2024.

On Monday, April 29, defending champions India took on England in a Group C Thomas Cup encounter in Chengdu, China. With a place in the quarterfinals on the line, India came through with an emphatic 5-0 win.

Prannoy got things started on the right note for India, beating Huang 21-15, 21-15. After the match, he said he was happy to bounce back after losing 20-22, 14-21 to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn on Saturday.

"Today was better, I would say. I think we also started a little better today, I felt a little bit more in control and I felt I was also moving probably pretty well today," he told the press.

The 31-year-old also said that it was important to pace himself against an opponent like Huang, who can turn things around at any moment in the match.

"He is somebody who is coming up the ranks, these kinds of players are always dangerous when it comes to close points. If it is 15-15, 16-16 it can go anywhere. It was really important for me to kind of have enough gaps in between the points to kind of breath and that I think I kind of kept the entire match today," he added.

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HS Prannoy: "To give a start to the team is really important, and for my confidence as well"

In India's Thomas Cup Group C opener against Thailand, the tie got underway on the wrong note as HS Prannoy lost 20-22, 14-21 to Kunlavut Vitidsarn in just 41 minutes.

However, wins by World No. 3 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the duo of M R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, Lakshya Sen, and Kidambi Srikanth saw India register a 4-1 defeat of Thailand.

After his win against England's Harry Huang, Prannoy stated that the result not only gave India the right start but also boosted his confidence.

"To give a start to the team is really important, and I think for my confidence as well it gives a good boost to go ahead. It is really important to finish off the matches clinically, you saw against Thailand one match was bad for us. So it's important to be there, finish off the matches and come out [on top]," he said.

"I think that's going to be the key, especially in the late stages. Because I think anything can happen if you lose two points, three points and you lose a set and you lose a match. It is really important for us to do this clinically, each and every match is important for us," he added.

India will face group leaders Indonesia in their final group match on Wednesday.