Indian shuttler H S Prannoy says the success of winning the Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold has erased his fears of defeat and fuelled a dream of working harder than ever to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics.
"I think a title was due for me. I reached so many quarterfinals in tournaments, played against top players but I was not winning a title. Many people even told me that I was not playing well. But I knew I could win and I think it came at the right time," Prannoy, who jumped 12 places to reach world no. 31 yesterday, told PTI.
"Now I think the fear of losing is gone. I am not so nervous anymore. Earlier I used to be very nervous in the first two rounds. Now I am able to think on court and manage myself. I am confident on court. Such title wins boost you to train harder," said the 22-year-old, who clinched the maiden title of his career after winning the USD 1,25,000 Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold last Sunday.
Asked if Rio Olympics ever crossed his mind, he said: "Well, I had it in my mind earlier this month. I think it is possible for me. I know it is very difficult because there is a lot of competition, there is Parupalli Kashyap, K Srikanth and RMV Gurusaidutt but I know if I can play well, I can do it. But it is too early and I am not thinking about it now."
Ever since his historic silver at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and runners-up finish at Bahrain International Challenge in 2011, Prannoy has been grappling with injuries. He said it was a tough phase to sit on the sidelines after he hurt his back in 2012.
"I suffered lots of injuries in 2011 and 2012. I hurt my knee in 2011 just before the nationals and then again I injured it in 2012 but my back injury before the Vietnam Open in 2012 was really bad. It took me 5-7 months to recover fully and I lost a lot of time," Prannoy said.
"It was a tough phase. It was difficult looking at my friends playing sitting on the sidelines. Those 5-7 months, you are really lagging behind, you have to really focus and be patient enough to again compete with those guys. You need to have a lot of will power. I knew I have a lot of advantages. I trusted my instinct and it paid off," he said.
