Should ask my wife whether she's my lucky charm: HS Prannoy

HYDERABAD: Despite possessing abundant talent and working consistently, HS Prannoy did not get the desired results till recently. He led the way beating the Lin Dans and Lee Chong Weis when everyone thought they were invincible. But luck eluded him till 2022 as he hardly won a major title.
Last year was good for Prannoy as he played a key role in helping India win the Thomas Cup and became the top-ranked Indian shuttler.Queried if the lady in his life brought him the lucky charm, Prannoy said, "I should ask my wife about it. Yeah, she is my lucky charm. It is also a result of the consistent process that I am going through."
Prannoy rated his bronze-winning effort at the Worlds Championships as special. "It's a very special moment in my career. The victory is good not only because of the medal but the manner I got it. The draw was so difficult as I had to beat Loh Kean Yew (2021 world champion) and Viktor Axelsen (world and Olympic champ) to reach the semifinals," said Prannoy, adding that he would rate Thomas Cup as the best.
"Thomas Cup victory is close to my heart, it came all of a sudden. After that the bronze at the Worlds and then the Malaysia Masters (2023)," he added.
Injuries and health issues had their impact on his career and at times the Kerala shuttler thought he cannot move forward. But he said the hunger to succeed motivated him. "Injuries are part of anyone's career but I had some at the wrong time. It was a tough journey. There were moments I thought I should stop. But I moved forward because of a lot of people, who encouraged me to continue with confidence," he said.
Prannoy said he was benefited by the return of Pullela Gopichand. Though the chief coach has been designing the training programme, he started getting seriously involved with men's singles only in the last few months and even began touring with the team. "For the last 14, 15 years I have been training with Bhayya (Gopichand). He took a break in between but became very active in the last six months and that made a lot of difference," said Prannoy, who is also assisted by former international Gurusaidutt.
"I have good space right now. I don't need to think about anything else as it is taken care of by Bhayya and Guru. I just need to play according to their plan and it is really helping a lot," he said.
Prannoy said he had no favourite opponent but Loh Kean Yew is a good friend on the circuit. "In men's singles all the top-35 are very dangerous. They can beat anyone on their day. There is nothing like that we should be careful against a particular opponent. Every match is tough," he said.
His results over the last few months have more or less ensured a spot for him at the Olympics but Prannoy refuses to accept that he is in the safe zone. "There are still a number of tournaments. I need to work hard. It is important to keep my head down and work."