As the Paris Olympics approach, Indian athletes are enduring rigorous training in pursuit of victory. In an exciting interview, we talk with badminton star HS Prannoy during the inauguration of the Victor showroom in the National Capital, New Delhi. Join us as we explore his intense preparations, the challenges he faces, and the thrilling journey leading up to Paris.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hi Brian, first of all your thoughts on the Olympic qualification, how do you look at
00:04 it because it's your maiden Olympic appearance this time.
00:08 Well, I'm really excited, I think it's something which I've always attempted and
00:14 trying to finally qualify gives I think a lot of relief to be honest and a lot of expectations
00:21 is going to be there in the next few months but I think for me it's going to be really
00:26 good to see how I enjoy this phase of the competition.
00:30 From Tokyo Olympics to Paris Olympics, one pair who has been consistently raising the
00:36 bar for you from the singles to the men's pair is between you, I mean we've seen your
00:41 rise the last few years but if you talk about your performance in the 2020 K, very good
00:50 job, tons of medals at the best of the podiums, how does that performance bode you now when
00:57 you are entering the Paris Olympics mode?
01:00 Well, I think the one thing which I tell myself is to not compare the results each and every
01:06 time actually.
01:07 I think 2023 was almost 6 months back and I think things change, I think the situation
01:14 changes, the match changes, players change, the game style changes so it's really important
01:20 to update yourself with what's happening and to keep doing the changes accordingly and
01:24 I think that's where you keep getting better as a player and I think that's what I've
01:30 been trying to do over the last couple of years where I've not been stuck with any
01:36 kind of training or any kind of situation, I've always been trying to evolve and always
01:41 been trying to be brave enough to make tough decisions.
01:45 So, getting into an Olympic cycle also I think it's really important to work things from
01:52 a fact saying that how well you can play in a bigger stadium, what are the preparations
01:58 which you can do for that and so I think these kind of things are going to be the portion
02:02 of getting better.
02:03 You and Lakshya both have qualified, does that put some pressure on you or the rise
02:10 of Indian badminton overall in the next, because after a long gap two men's singles
02:16 players have qualified, how do you look at it?
02:19 Well, I think it's something which is great for the Indian badminton to have two men's
02:25 singles out there and for me personally I think it would give an extra motivation to
02:30 definitely perform better and somebody like Laksh I think is somebody who always puts
02:37 in that effort to kind of get good results out there and he's always I think is constantly
02:44 on the hunt to get good results.
02:46 So, to have somebody like him for this entire period to have to kind of maybe train together
02:54 also in the next period, so it would definitely give an extra edge to my preparations and
03:00 I think that is definitely going to be a boost for the entire Indian fans as well because
03:04 I have one more player out there who has the chance to kind of be on the podium and give
03:11 India that extra medal as well.
03:14 There's always expectation from Indian shuttlers whenever they enter into the Olympics because
03:18 of what we've seen in the last three Olympics.
03:22 Does that put the shuttlers under pressure or is it an added advantage because the opponents
03:27 are not going to take you guys lightly?
03:31 I think it's always an added extra pressure obviously as I said I think the last 15 years
03:36 I think they've always been able to get a comeback with big medals in bigger events
03:41 say World Championship, Olympics, or Asian Games.
03:43 So, whenever you are going for these kind of games I think the fans expect you to come
03:48 back and we kind of keep getting better in that medal colour as well I think and they
03:55 have always been able to perform also I would say fortunately and I hope that we can kind
04:01 of better our performances in Paris and come back with many more medals.
04:07 If you talk about the men's doubles players, Stratvik and Chirag, they are the world number
04:12 ones and we are expecting something good from them as well because of the rankings and not
04:17 just because of the rankings because they have played some sensational battle in the
04:21 last over a year or so.
04:25 Having such champion players in the contingent, how will it be a psychological boost for the
04:31 rest of the squad?
04:33 Well, I think Stratvik and Chirag has been proving that they are the number one in the
04:38 world with not just the rankings but I think the consistency in performances out there
04:44 and to do that day in day out is not easy, out there in big tournaments is not easy
04:50 and for them I think it's really important to choose the tournaments coming in especially
04:54 in the Olympics and to be physically fit out there because I am sure that if they are physically
04:59 fit out there then I don't see anybody else kind of giving them a fight out there in the
05:06 Olympics but as I said Olympics is a different ball game and it's all on how you kind of
05:13 deal with the pressure and anxiety and I am very very hopeful that they are going to come
05:21 back to the middle and I am hoping that it will be a good as well.
05:26 You yourself have been one of the toughest of opponents to fight, we have seen you battling
05:34 for hours in the game, what is the secret to your resilience on the court?
05:40 I think it's probably the way I was brought up in Singapore, probably the way I have learnt
05:49 how to play badly and things never came easy for me and I had to always fight hard for
05:56 being in a team, sitting in a team or probably being in a podium I think I always had to
06:02 fight for it and I think it never came easy especially when I was young so I knew that
06:08 if I had to do something different I had to be resilient out there and you never know
06:13 when the big results come but it's important to be resilient and I think that's what I
06:19 keep doing and I feel really happy trying to do it.
06:24 Last question, what are your plans going into the Olympics because the word 'peaking'
06:30 becomes talk of the town whenever we have a big event approaches, so how you intend
06:38 to peak at the right time?
06:40 I have no clue how this is done to be honest, the coaches and the support staff probably
06:45 might know it much better but for me the only thing in mind is to obviously get a few consistent
06:52 performances in the next coming months to make sure that you are in a good frame of
06:57 mind getting into Paris and there is a lot of match under your belt yet before you head
07:02 to Paris so that you know the situation much better and you are in a situation to fight
07:09 mentally and physically.
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