"We have got a very good team this year" - HS Prannoy confident of Indian shuttlers doing well in Paris Olympics 2024
India’s star men’s singles shuttler HS Prannoy believes that the Indian contingent part of the Paris Olympics 2024 have good chances of finishing on the podium. In the men’s singles, Prannoy and Lakshya Sen qualified for the mega event in Paris.
Prannoy sounded confident of the Indian shuttlers’ performance in the quadrennial event. He also stated that players, who have good mental and physical strength during the whole course of the campaign, will stand out.
"I think if you look at the last 4-5 years I would say we have done exceptionally well in the bigger events. I think even if it is the Commonwealth Games, World Championships we all had good results in the past. So I think getting into the Olympics say from Sindhu's perspective or Satwik-Chirag's perspective everybody has got their chances,” Prannoy told ANI.
“Tanisha also qualified and looking from a medal perspective everybody has got their chance. You just have to be extremely well mentally and physically for 6 days or probably 10 days of the tournament. Whoever is going to do that I think will be standing on the podium. So I think in that way we have got a very good team this year which is going to Olympics," he added.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will be aiming to bag her third medal, while Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto will take part in the women's doubles category.
However, all eyes will be on former no.1 men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who have been in excellent form, leading to the Paris Olympics 2024. Notable, the Indian doubles pair secured a gold medal in the Asian Games.
“Lakshya is also playing really well” - HS Prannoy
The men's singles player went on to emphasize that during the Olympics, there will be a lot of eyeballs on the qualified players. He stressed the importance of staying fit ahead of the Olympics.
For the first time, India will be having two men’s singles players in the Summer Games. He went on to hail his fellow compatriot Lakshya Sen for his recent outstanding performances.
"I think it is always exciting when it comes to an Olympic period because there are a lot of eyes on players when it comes to the Olympics and for me, I think this is going to be the first Olympics for me and I would say very happy first of all to get qualified I think the biggest task especially when it comes to qualification period to be injury free to play whole tournament full here,” Prannoy went on to add.
“I think it is a very taxing period out there for players with a lot of tournaments out there but to finally qualify kind of gives a lot of relief I would say and looking from the fact we have two men singles from a very long time. It gives a lot of motivation I think as well. Lakshya is also playing really well and the last few months and to have somebody with me going into will always give me extra motivation," Prannoy stated.
Team India so far has three medals in badminton in Olympics history. Since the London Olympics, India managed to win at least one medal in the Summer Games. PV Sindhu secured a silver and a bronze medal while Saina Nehwal clinched the bronze medal.
On April 15, Monday, the ninth-ranked HS Prannoy was in Delhi to inaugurate a showroom along with Ashwini Ponnappa, the women’s doubles specialist. Prannoy sounded confident about changing color of medals this time around in the Paris Olympics 2024.