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Ace Indian shuttler HS Prannoy made a remarkable comeback on the court as he crushed Orijit Chaliha to clinch a 3-1 victory for Kerala over Assam in the National Games Mixed Team quarterfinals on Saturday. The star shuttler recently replaced Tokyo Olympic Games champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark at the top of the latest men's singles BWF World Tour 2022 Rankings, having led with 58,090 points this year.
The 30-year-old has been one of the most consistent players in the international circuit this season, reaching the quarters and semifinals in many competitions but a title has eluded him. After winning the game on Saturday, Prannoy revealed that he is currently focusing on the World Tour finals.
"It’s a nice feeling to be back on the court. I last played in the first week of September in Japan Open. It was a long back break for me after some good victories this year," he said as per a PTI report as he clinched the game in 26-minutes. He further informed that he was not moving well due to which he had to go back to training.
"Playing a match after a long time is always tough. My focus would be the World Tour Finals. There are quite a few tournaments before that. I hope to produce winning results. I have to be consistent. Of course, I have to be in the top eight to make the grade," he said.
“I would like to get into a good rhythm before the World Tour Finals. I’m happy with my results over the last year and I need to be consistent," he added. Prannoy also admitted that he needs to get on the top 10, preferably top five. "I also need to work on my game so that I should go beyond the semifinals. That is my priority now," he said.
Speaking of the National Games 2022, Maharashtra defeated Delhi 3-1 while Gujarat outplayed Uttarakhand 3-2 to secure their spot in the semifinals. Maharashtra will now face top seeds Telangana while the hosts will take on Kerala for a spot in the gold medal match. “We look forward to the semifinal match against Kerala. But winning the first ever medal is a big achievement for our team," said Monesh Mashruwala, manager of the Gujarat team.