National Games champion B Sai Praneeth needs to interrupt into Top 25 once more

The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a “disaster” and affected his efficiency, says B Sai Praneeth, who’s now seeking to reclaim his place within the high 25 in world rankings, following his maiden National Games gold.

Praneeth was constantly beating a number of the large names within the recreation in 2017 and he topped it off by profitable the Singapore Super Series crown 2017 and a World Championship bronze medal in 2019. But then pandemic was declared with lockdowns imposed globally, together with India. Everything got here to a standstill, together with Praneeth’s profession and shortly from world No. 10 in 2019, his rating plummeted to 41 in September this 12 months.

“My career was on a high since 2017. I was on top of my game and was brimming with confidence too,” mentioned Praneeth, who received the lads’s badminton title within the thirty sixth National Games right here on Thursday, in a launch. “But unfortunately, the lockdowns were imposed. It proved to be a huge disaster for me.” “My training came to a halt. I used to go to the stadium but I wouldn’t have any sparring partners. I was in a confused state of mind too. I didn’t know if I should train or play safe. I ended up sitting at home.” Not solely did Praneeth lose momentum, his confidence additionally took a success. A few accidents additionally didn’t assist.

“I could not plan or train properly for the Olympics. After that, because of a sudden overload of training, I picked up injuries too,” mentioned the 30-year-old, who couldn’t win a single match in Tokyo.

Praneeth was bothered by a recurring knee damage final 12 months and likewise had a bout of COVID-19 early this 12 months. The Hyderabad shuttler, nevertheless, feels he’s again in his groove now. “It is all about self-belief and confidence. The win over Prannoy in the National Games will be a big boost for me going forward,” he mentioned.

He shocked Kerala’s Prannoy, presently main the Race to Guangzhou Rankings, within the Team Championship Finals. In the lads’s singles finals, he downed Karnataka’s Mithun Manjunath for the title.

“My priority is to get back into the Top-25 in the world as early as possible. I have to work on my fitness so that I can play several tournaments,” he mentioned. “My family is a big help and that motivates me to play again. When I see my son, I feel relieved and happy,” he signed off