Shuttler HS Prannoy hungry for competitive action before CWG

Representation picEven though he may not be fully fit by the time the All England Badminton Championships start on March 14 Indian shuttler HS Prannoy feels that he needs to play the tournament in order to get into the groove ahead of this Aprils Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast Australia The 25yearold returned to the national camp in Hyderabad in the first week of February to resume training after being sidelined due to a wart on his footAt the moment for Prannoy the Birmingham event may arrive too soon But he doesnt want to let it go as he sees it as an opportunity to get into competitive mode At the moment I am training well But training and match practice are different things I need to play competitive matches and tournaments before the CWG Prannoy told IANS The All England is dicey for me Coming from any sort of injury is not easy but hopefully the situation will be better in two weeks time he addedThe tournament and you see the crowd they lift you Prannoy told IANS He also revealed that he learned and tried the art of throwing negativity out of his mind during the injuryenforced break Prannoy has a 2016 South Asian Games team gold in his cabinet as well as an individual silver from the same competition and bronze in the Asia Team Championships the same year He also won the US Open last year as he moved into the top10 in global singles rankingsHe defeated compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in the final of the National Championships in November Still he feels he has a lot of things to learn from the world No2 from Guntur Srikanth is the highestranked Indian in the category The two shuttlers will carry big expectations from India Prannoy reckons that the Indian badminton contingent has proven performers and should be a strong contender in the mixed team eventThe young mens doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Saiwiksairaj Rankireddy will look to set the court on fire in their debut performance at the CWG while Pranaav Jerry Chopra will pair up with N Sikki Reddy for the mixed doubles clashes They all have been doing well in recent tournaments Prannoy saidIn the womens singles department Olympic medallists Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will shuffle roles as the team will pin hopes on the singles event In the womens doubles section the pair of Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponappa will look to continue their great performances as Ashwini will try to emulate her 2010 gold medal winning run with her new partner The women have been the flagbearers in setting high standards Be it World Championships or Olympics or any big event they have proven their mettle he saidCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go