HS Prannoy calls for better scheduling in important tournaments

New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler HS Prannoy called for better scheduling in bigger tournaments like Badminton Asia Championships.

Currently India's top-ranked male shuttler in men's singles, Prannoy pointed out his tough schedule at the recently concluded Badminton Asia Championships where he lost in the second round to Chun Yi Lin of Chinese Taipei.

"I think the scheduling is sometimes cruel to the players because I remember in BAC by the time I slept at 3 am. It is tough to sleep more than five or six hours and then you try to gain your energy back and recover from the grind," HS Prannoy told The Bridge on the sidelines of the inauguration of the first Delhi showroom of the sports equipment company Victor.

Badminton Asia Championships featured the best shuttlers of the continent but the scheduling was horrible leading to a lot of complaints. A total of 74 matches were played in the first round of the tournament.

HS Prannoy played the second last game on the first court against Lu Guang Zu of China in the first round and won the marathon match that went on for 90 minutes.

However, he was back to play his second-round tie against Chun Yi Lin of Chinese Taipei in less than 14 hours.

"Recovery is an important aspect of any athlete's fitness and once you have inadequate sleep, the recovery won't have the same rhythm," Prannoy added further.

At the age of 31, HS Prannoy has an aging body, and it was clear in the second match where it was clear that he hasn't recovered from that marathon match.

However, the scheduling of a tournament is not something that a player can control.

Talking about the solution, Prannoy said," But I think it's part and parcel of it. You can't complain about it, just have to work a little bit more than the others to make sure that you are recovering well than others."

"But when you play in big tournaments like World Championships or Olympics, it is a high possibility that you should be ready to grind those 90 minutes matches day in and day out. So it's very important to kind of build that kind of body that will be the key," he added further.

With the Paris Olympics qualification for Badminton coming to an end at the end of April, HS Prannoy has booked his berth for the 2024 Olympics and is gearing up to defend the Indian men's team title at the upcoming Thomas Cup.