‘Legs gone, back injured, body at 50%’: HS Prannoy’s historic Asian Games bronze is worth the ‘wait’ in gold – Times of India

HANGZHOU: The battles of an athlete often go beyond what the fans see, enjoy, celebrate or get frustrated and disappointed with. What’s on show is the player giving it his or her best. What the eyes see takes the shape of opinion. HS Prannoy‘s bronze — a men’s individual Asian Games medal in badminton after 41 years for India — is a story on those lines.
Prannoy did not win the bronze after losing the semifinal on Friday; he clinched it after winning the quarterfinal. Such correlations are critical in understanding the effort that worked in the quarterfinal but not in the semis. No wonder both chief coach Pullela Gopichand and Prannoy became emotional and broke down after the quarterfinal victory, for only they knew how this was achieved.

That, of course, takes nothing away from the masterful show that China’s Li Shifeng put up in his 21-16, 21-9 victory for a place in the final.
“In fact, even now I am a little emotional in that sense, because for him it has been pain and pain and pain, and it’s like fight, fight, fight,” said Gopichand with his eyes almost welling up once again.
A week before arriving in Hangzhou, Prannoy injured his back. He was preparing for the Asian Games after the high of his bronze medal at the World Championships. His quality and form was difficult to be left behind. So he embarked for the Games in China and the team of physios and support staff started managing his injury.
The management was required for not one, but two events — men’s team first, followed by the individual event. And to put in a medal-winning effort in both with a half-fit body speaks volumes about Prannoy’s steely resolve.

India beat South Korea for a place in the final, where they lost to hosts China. It was India’s best finish in the men’s team event at the Asian Games.
The decision to play Prannoy in one of the singles matches of the team semifinal was a calculated call.
“We wanted him to play on that semifinal day of the team event, which was very critical because against Korea we needed those three singles (Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth were the other two),” Gopichand said, adding perspective to Prannoy’s feat.
It proved to be a match-winning call, as the doubles pairings of Chirag Shetty & Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun lost their matches.

India’s three wins were registered in the singles.
“Having played and lost the men’s doubles matches on that day, the decision we took looked very critical. It was fantastic that Prannoy could pull off a win in that match (against Hyeokjin Jeon). It was a tough match (18-21, 21-16, 21-19). His back was maybe a little worse, but his legs were gone totally because he wasn’t really pushed in training for that last week before coming (to Hangzhou),” said Gopichand.
Prannoy did not feature in the final of the team event.
There was a day off between the team event and the start of individual rounds. That, and an easy win in the first match, helped ease some of the pressure on the back. But it followed a gruelling quarterfinal against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia — an energy-sapping three-game duel that Prannoy won 21-16, 21-23, 23-21.
There was a gap of only 24 hours for the semifinal against Shifeng.
“I think it saps you from a hormone perspective, it also drains you,” said the chief coach. “Had we pulled off the quarterfinal in two games, possibly things would have been a bit different here (in the semifinal).
“Having said that, the way Li Shifeng played today was phenomenal. Absolutely no mistakes on the baseline. Every shot was literally on the baseline…I think he was immaculate in that, solid, the shuttles were slow. Prannoy didn’t have any easy things to get, had to hit-drive, hit-drive,” Gopichand explained.
“Maybe Prannoy with fitter legs and a pain-free back would have been a different day.”
‘MY TOUGHEST WEEK IN LAST 2-3 YEARS’
Prannoy appeared to be holding his back while standing and talking to the media after the semifinal, admitting that he hasn’t had to endure a tougher weak in a season in the last 2-3 years.
At times, especially in the quarterfinal, thoughts crossed Prannoy’s mind where he felt maybe it isn’t meant to be.
“Coming into the games, my team knew I was not in the best shape, but all we could do is try. The game against Lee Zii Jia was not easy. Physically it was draining and the way yesterday’s match (quarterfinal) went, it felt like it is not meant for me at times. To come out from that and win a medal is such a relief and that’s why we had such a lot of emotions out there yesterday,” said Prannoy.
Syed Modi was the last Indian shuttler to win an individual medal at the Asian Games, clinching a bronze in 1982.
But neither the pressure of ending a 41-year wait, nor the full stadium supporting India’s opponents created any pressure on Prannoy. It was his hurting back against some of the world’s best players that made it the toughest for him.
“I am at 50% right now because I haven’t trained in the last 10 days…To have the back take the load can only be for one game, so we have been trying to take it day by day and then take a call to see how it’s going. This has been one of the toughest weeks in the last 2-3 years. I have never had such pain and played a tournament,” said Prannoy.
“This medal is big. After 41 years a medal in men’s singles shows how tough the Asian Games is for badminton. It’s like the World Championships for us and it’s not easy to go and play semis with so many players in the top 10,” said Prannoy.
“Currently in the top 10, nine players are from Asia. So to go and win a medal (at the Asian Games) is right up there with the World Championships bronze I won last month.
“This was just much more sweet.”