HS Prannoy takes break from badminton to speed up recovery from chikungunya impact
Prannoy was at the peak of his form last year but his performance took a dip after he was diagnosed with chikungunya ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Badminton
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy announced on Monday that he will take an indefinite break from the upcoming badminton tournaments to focus on his recovery from the effects of chikungunya.
Prannoy was diagnosed with chikungunya, a mosquito-borne disease, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. He recovered in time for his Olympic debut and made it to the round of 16 in the men’s singles event, where he was defeated in straight games by compatriot Lakshya Sen.
However, Prannoy is still suffering from the effects of the disease and opted out of the Japan Open 2024 and Korea Open 2024 badminton tournaments to focus on his recovery.
The 32-year-old mentioned on social media that he would return to competitive badminton after recovering and thanked his fans for their continued support.
“After careful consideration with my team, I've decided to withdraw from some of the upcoming tournaments to focus on recovery. Thank you for your understanding and support during this challenging time. I’ll be back stronger,” stated Prannoy.
Prannoy also suffered from a stomach disorder and back injury before the Olympics. Notably, the Kerala-based badminton star has not provided a recovery timeline.
Since 2022, Prannoy has been one of the most successful Indian badminton players. He upstaged two-time Olympic gold medallist Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals, en route to the World Championships bronze medal at Copenhagen last year.
At the Asian Games 2023, Prannoy pipped Japanese shuttler Kodai Naraoka for the bronze medal. He was also a part of the Indian men’s badminton team that bagged silver in Hangzhou and won the gold medal at the Thomas Cup in 2022.
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen, meanwhile, will also not feature in the Japan Open tournament this week.
Sen is currently in Salzberg, Austria, for his physical assessment to maximise his performance in the upcoming BWF tournaments. Sen will be working on his fitness for a week in Austria before coming back to India.