Wuhan
Every setback HS Prannoy faces in his career is a harbinger of an almighty fightback. So it was inevitable that after missing out on the Commonwealth Games medal a fortnight ago, the big backhand of Indian badminton would whip one across with menace and roar away in his usual one-step-back-two-steps-forward way. The big Indian gun ranked No 10 in the world, became the first Indian male player since Anup Sridhar in 2007 to ensure a medal for himself and the country at the Asian Championships at Wuhan on Friday, after beating Korean World No 2 Son Wan Ho 18-21, 23-21, 21-12 in the quarters.
The transition from the Commonwealth Games to playing the big guns of Asia was always going to be a little stiff. HS Prannoy was upto the challenge.
He faces local favourite and Olympic champion Chen Long on Saturday in an enticing semifinal to go beyond the assured bronze. Given the Indian had sensationally taken out the Chinese the last time they met at the Indonesia Open last June, and considering he’d be hurting still from missing out at the Gold Coast, the semis will be an intense affair.
Prannoy played a 72-minute long three-setter against the pugnacious Son Wan who is typically stingy with errors and makes opoonents’ lives miserable by lulling them into a monotony that’s often hard to break. The Indian 25-year-old though did just that in downing the Korean former World No 1 by rustling up creative tactics and mixing it up after Son had strangled the pace in the opener winning it 21-18.
“Tough match today but happy that I kept my nerve in the second set to win it and tactically I was smart today which made the difference,” he said.
It was Prannoy’s third straight three-setter of the tournament – where on Saturday he lines up alongwith Chen Long, resurgent Japanese Kento Momota and Lee Chong Wei who conquered K Srikanth once again to deny him the medal he wanted. Son Wan Ho is fond of upsetting Indian applecarts, but he was up against a crafty game in the quarters – an under-rated part of Prannoy’s armoury which is known more for booming with the massive smashes.
Son had settled into a comfortable rhythm winning the opener, before Prannoy swirled things up at the start of the second. There were little changes in tactics. “Prannoy can really turn up the aggression,” said coach amrish Shinde, adding, “but he also changed his approach and pushed the pace.” Opponents typically need to work hard against Son to create rallies and catch him early on the net. Prannoy would use the baseline jumps and charge the net while controlling the longer rallies as he gained ascendancy in the second set opening up a 12-5 lead for himself. Son would catch up at 14 though – his ability to throttle opponents like he did to Srikanth at the worlds is legendary – but Prannoy would come out blazing from the 18-19 trailing situation, by keeping his composure to level at 23-21.
Prannoy relied largely on mixing his serve and approaching the net in the decider as Son was systematically crushed by a better all-round game.
After the CWG, Prannoy had penned an apologetic message to his fans that said: “Heart breaking for me personally as I had a big chance for the medal but was simply not good enough against both LCW and Rajiv (Ouseph). Once again I choked when it mattered and hope I can come back on a better note ASAP.” With his game he always had the ability to turn it around, and on Friday he had pulled his mind together in order to not disintegrate.
“He was a little upset when he returned, but he was back on court after 1-2 days and got down to working on specific technical areas,” Shinde said. While he had put in hours of 3-on-1 multifeeding, he had put in high quality sessions sharpening his forehand game.
What will need to be spot on against Chen Long is his stroke making from behind and the forehands and overheads to go with the natural strength of his backhand. Prannoy has always been cerebral with his improvisations, but playing a Chinese in China will be a fresh challenge. Long, now world No 3, played a really long quarterfinal of his own – a 86 minute protracted battle where Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus tested his nerves in the opener before the Chinese stepped up a gear to pull it back. “We’re expecting another long one tomorrow. It’ll be interesting India vs China. Prannoy has an equal chance,” Shinde said, those hopes relying mostly on the Indian’s ability to really pull out the big guns against top players.
Saina Nehwal usually rides waves of confidence when she looks capable of taking on anyone who comes up against her – and the 27-year-old finds herself in the middle of a tiny purple patch. Ever since she made a Grand Prix-level final at Indonesia at the start of the year, she’s been maximising her improved movements to make every match count – striding over to the CWG title even.
However, her best at the Asian Championship has been two bronzes in 2010 and 2016. Saina gets another shot at improving the colour of that medal in a prestigious meet, but runs into a familiar foe – Tai Tzu Ying.
Their matches are storied and the Taipei girl’s dominance over the last six years well-documented, but Saina is cresting on confidence. Not only did she win the CWG title beating compatriot PV Sindhu. But at Wuhan she has accounted for China’s tallest Gao Fanjie and on Friday shut out Korean Jang Mi Lee – all in straight sets.
“She’s playing assuredly and hitting well. Tai Tzu is tough, but Saina’s different when she’s confident,” Shinde added. Saina marginally had a better measure of Tai Tzu at the All England than the wipe-out in the Indonesian final. Starting as the underdog at Wuhan, she’ll give it her all on Saturday. It’s a title missing from her kitty, but the biggest roadblock is up on semifinals day.
