NEWS
He may not be as popular as Parupalli Kashyap or Kidambi Srikanth, but Prannoy Kumar or HS Prannoy has surely come a long way to enter the bet of badminton club. What started as a challenge to find a good coach who could believe in his talent, this young lad went on to register a US Open win and of course, many more down the line.
Explore the interesting life story of Parnnoy Kumar or HS as he is fondly called because it might inspire you in ways you never expected!
Full Name | Prannoy Kumar |
---|---|
Sport | Badminton |
Hometown | New Delhi |
Height | 1.78 m |
Age | 26 years (17 July 1992) |
Position | Raider |
Coach | Pullela Gopichand |
World Ranking | 23Highest Ranking: 8 (as of 3rd May 2018) |
“He will never be able to play singles. He isn’t fast, in fact, he is slow and he should shift to doubles,” this is exactly what a coach told Prannoy’s dad. Well, the said coach must be definitely regretting it now!
Prannoy’s father, Sunil Kumar, is a former All India Air Force Badminton Champion. The best part, he taught the skills and techniques of the game to himself. A true inspiration for Prannoy and his biggest supporter, Sunil Kumar saw a spark in Prannoy that no one could. He knew that with the right guidance, Prannoy will conquer the world of badminton. Which is exactly why he did not let any negative comments affect him or Prannoy.
It was the result of his father’s determination that Prannoy started playing badminton at the age of 10. Of course, they did take some time to find a professional coach as multiple people rejected him and advised him to try doubles.
The rejections and the wait for a professional coach was absolutely worth the wait for Prannoy. His talent was recognized by none other than the badminton champion Pullela Gopichand himself. Right from developing his game to being patient through injuries, Gopichand helped Prannoy rediscover himself. He also told him to channelize aggression in a subtle way to scare off the opponents.
“You don’t need to show it if you have it inside you — opponents are automatically scared,” Gopichand advised Prannoy.
“It’s an unorthodox backhand, raw power with weapons. We’ve not worked on it much, it’s been like this for 8 years – the power and angles on the backhand,” Gopichand told the Indian Express when talking about his prodigy’s style of playing. The explosive power in his backhand helps Prannoy to dominate over his opponents.
After some stellar performances on the national scene, Prannoy entered the big league in 2010. His silver medal at in boys’ singles at the boys’ singles at the Summer Youth Olympics captured the imagination of the entire country. He followed it up with another silver medal at the Bahrain International Challenge in 2011.
Unfortunately, after that, he had to take a small break in order to recover from recurring injuries. His coach, the legendary Pullela Gopichand helped him a lot in this period. “Gopi Sir just said that put two years aside for injuries. He said the average career will be around nine years — ‘put two years out because of injury and push yourself to the absolute limit.
“You are young now, injuries will happen – there is no escaping that. Even if you get injured now, it is fine. Push when you are young. Once you are older, you can take it a little easy. But now, push ahead,” Prannoy told the Firstpost.
He came back with a bang in 2013. He reached the finals of Tata Open International Challenge. His fitness was not at peak and he lost to fellow Indian Sourabh Verma.
Prannoy got a lot of international exposure in the year 2014. He made it to the semifinals in multiple tournaments. Some of them were the India Open Grand Prix, the Bitburger Open Grand Prix, the Macau Open Grand Prix and the Sri Lanka Open International Badminton Challenge.
He also won the All India Senior National Ranking Championships the same year. Reaching the finals of Vietnam Open Grand Prix was a huge feat. Though he lost in the finals to Indonesian Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, his performance was inspired. Coming back after a small break and playing so exceptionally is not easy. HS Prannoy proved his mettle and how he is here to stay in 2014. Soon, he became one of the best Indian male badminton players.
In 2015, Prannoy reached the semifinals of the India Open Grand Prix. At India Super Series, he stunned World Number 2 Jan Ø. Jørgensen. The victory catapulted his fame by leaps and bounds.
In 2016, Prannoy Kumar won the Swiss Open. Perhaps, the most stunning victory of Prannoy’s career came in 2017. He won the US Open by defeating Parupalli Kashyap.
The year 2017 was particularly special for Prannoy, as he defeated his idol Cheng Long at the Indonesian Open. Cheng Long was dominating the tournament for many years, but Prannoy pulled out to the biggest upset of the year to grab the trophy.
“It wasn’t the hardest match to win. I’ve played a lot harder matches. Today I didn’t really feel that I was in a fight,” he told ESPN over the phone from Jakarta.
2018 – $21,775
Career – $118,743.50
Prannoy was a part of the team Mumbai Rockets in the Premier badminton League till 2017. In 2017, he became the costliest player in the league as Ahmedabad Smash Masters picked him up for 62 lakh. This price once again proved his tremendous value as a badminton player. Almost every team wanted Prannoy and was trying to pick him up in the auction.
“It was really unexpected. Auctions work that way, sometimes you can get really lucky. But I’m happy. It shows that the league and Indian badminton are headed to a good place,” Prannoy told ESPN.
PBL is giving badminton players lucrative opportunities and is making the game popular across the country. For the Kumar family, the tournament is all the more special, as the entire family makes it a point to watch all of Prannoy’s matches.
“PBL is when we get to spend a few days together and watch him play to packed stands. We’re willing to wait 11 months for it,” his father told ESPN.
With Prannoy travelling out of the country throughout the year and busy with his training, it is an excellent platform for his friends and family to watch him up close.
Another inspiring fact about Prannoy is his determination. He didn’t get bogged down by injuries. Considering the fact that he was injured right at the beginning of his career, the easier option would have been to give up. He didn’t. That is exactly what makes him a true champion!
Youth Olympic Games
Year | Place | Event | Medal |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Singapore | Boys’ Singles | Silver |
Asian Team Championships
Year | Place | Event | Medal |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Hyderabad | Men’s Team | Bronze |
South Asian Games
Year | Place | Event | Medal |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Guwahati, India | Men’s Team | Gold |
2016 | Guwahati, India | Men’s Singles | Silver |
Asian Championships
Year | Place | Event | Medal |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Wuhan, China | Men’s Singles | Bronze |
Commonwealth Games
Year | Place | Event | Medal |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Gold Coast, Australia | Mixed Team | Gold |
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