Indonesia Open badminton: Wiser, sharper Prannoy two wins from first title in 5 years

Prannoy is searching for his first title since the US Open in July of 2017. But that magical season – when he took out opponents like Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long in back-to- back matches offering Kidambi Srikanth a springboard to surge to the Indonesia title – remains a whirlwind blur. He has continued scalping big names – including Viktor Axelsen at Bali last autumn, and made the final at the Swiss Open, but the title at a Super Series event remains on the to-do list. The Super 1000 semis at Istora, shuttle’s grandest coliseum, beckons after he ousted Danish Rasmus Gemke 21-14, 21-12 in the quarters.

His game, wisened from all the standalone upsets but not standout title wins, is reaping the benefits of all the delectable nuances he added to his original backhand all-out attack. In the early 20s, one goes bombastic. In the late 20s, the blues and rhapsodies of the struggle are taken in the stride, and ballads are composed. Tempering the attack isn’t just about maturity sobering the bones. For the deep thinker and cerebral player, adding variations to his once-beastly bazooka strokes has been about making peace with the conditions.

SEMIFINALSSSS CALLINGGGG !!

Thanks to the entire crowd who stayed late to support me in the stadium today and glad to get that win and reach Indonesian Open Semifinals 🇮🇩

Let’s get it tomorrow 💪🫵 pic.twitter.com/QblNbIqjp5

— PRANNOY HS (@PRANNOYHSPRI) June 17, 2022

Of Indonesia, he said, “The conditions are very tricky with a lot of drift and the shuttle is tough to control.” The breathing, heaving crowds at Istora – and even the emptying in the late session – makes conditions unpredictable. “But I’ve really been able to control the shuttle well from Day 1. I’m playing a much better and patient game now.”

Prannoy has a defanged nothing-to-pounce-on serve. In contrast with Gemke, who thrives – and sinks – on his restless unstable energy, Prannoy is a monk with a mace on court. Through the two games, he kept a steady length and orchestrated action around the two mid-courts, relying on the cross-reflex strokes to tame the wild shuttle and keep it within bounds.

The tall shuttler is aware of his capabilities at in-rally acceleration, where he can lull Gemke on a lateral yo-yo with his crosses, and in a sudden burst of energy, send the kill shot deep to the back corner, down the line. So, he took the hapless Dane along before dashing his hopes.

“Thomas Cup was more pressure and emotional with mind games. Here I was in much better shape and relaxed,” he said of the Dane whom he beat to clinch the semifinal tie for India last month in the historic triumph. Gemke had a wobbly knee, Prannoy had a plan to keep it wobbled.

Adding new tricks

Prannoy leads 6-4 in the head-to-head against him, but there was a period from 2019-21, when Gemke enjoyed a stranglehold over the Indian. It was that strange phase when Daren Liew built himself bragging biceps boasting of continuous wins against the Indian. In short, a torrid time for Prannoy struggling with health issues and a convoluted over-thinking game on court. His backhand needed to snap out of the big power trap, as dazzling as the jump cross smash was.

Prannoy’s underrated defence now came to the fore. “It’s not easy to attack or get points off opponents in these conditions. Getting angles, connecting shuttles, it’s been tough to get the kills,” he said later.

So, he began developing a wide variety of deceptions: wrist, elbow, forearm, all of them jamming along to build a bag of tricks. It took him years to get them down to not just the muscle memory but the bone – humerus, radius, ulna perfectly following instructions of his ticking brain, intuiting in nano seconds how to wrong-foot opponents.

Perhaps the cleverest trick was reserved for the last point. Playing from pretty close to the net where the shuttle dipped, Prannoy took a stride and scoped it on the backhand inches off the ground, sending it just right to fall, like the Fosbury Flop, across the net but well short of Gemke. The Dane, who looks boggled at best of times when he’s stolen a point off Prannoy, didn’t complete his grimace even after that dipping backhand scoop, taken like a half volley, but sent vertical.

“I’ve been practising it for 4-5 years. It’s very tough to execute, so I kept it for the last point,” Prannoy chortled.

He plays Chinese Zhao Jun Peng in the semis – matching his best showing here – on Saturday. The Indian has beaten Li Shifeng and Huang yu Xiang, the other two young Chinese previously, but Zhao stays steady and throws posers in long rallies. The beautiful tricks might need some support from the beastly attack.