Mr Consistent wants to own a top-3 spot

PTI

New Delhi, August 9

He might be one of the frontrunners in the Olympics race but star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy doesn’t want to think about Paris right now and is instead focusing on “short-term targets” like breaking into the world’s top-3.

The most consistent Indian singles player in the last 12 months, Prannoy, ranked world No. 9, won the Malaysia Masters in May and was a whisker away from bagging another title as he finished runner-up at last week’s Australia Open.

“Right now, probably I am in a good position. I had a few decent tournaments post-May but I would say I am never satisfied and I always want to go out there and win big tournaments, that’s been always my ambition,” Prannoy said. “Last couple of years, I have been consistently able to play quarterfinals and semifinals and now I am trying to make sure that I go that extra one more round and be in the final and win those tournaments.”

The 31-year-old Indian, who reached three quarterfinals and a semifinal besides the two finals this season, had achieved the world No. 8 ranking in 2017 before health issues affected his game as he plummeted to 33 in 2021.

However, the man from Thiruvananthapuram returned to the top-10 in December last year before achieving a career-best world No. 7 ranking in May this year. “In the coming months that will be the challenge: to get into the top-5, or be in the top-3 in the world, which I have never been able to do till now. I think that is the target as of now. I am not looking way ahead, at the Olympics,” Prannoy said.

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