Who is Prannoy HS, India’s unlikely hero?

The 29-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram won the decisive singles in Thomas Cup semis

Prannoy HS, the soft-spoken Indian badminton star from Thiruvananthapuram, had been playing meaty supporting roles in the sport’s journey to being one of the most exciting disciplines in the country for nearly a decade now. However, he turned the unlikely hero in India’s back-to-back sensational wins in the quarter final and semi-final of Thomas Cup on the last two days in Bangkok — which assured them of their first-ever medal and now a shot at gold medal.

“I am so happy. Super proud of our team. This without doubt is historic and one of the biggest moment for Indian badminton. We will surely do well against Indonesia despite the pedigree they hold,’’ Prannoy told the media after rallying to hold off Dane Remus Gemke 13-21, 21-9 and 21-12 to seal the tie 3-2 in India’s favour.

Not giving up

This, barely 24 hours after outlasting Leong Jun Hao of Malaysia, five-time champions, in the quarters to clinch another 3-2 verdict for his country.

‘‘I wasn’t sure of what movement I could do and what I couldn’t do. It felt like it was all going downhill, but I thought I shouldn’t give up, let me just see how it goes. I was hoping it wouldn’t get aggravated. The pain started reducing towards the end of the second game, and in the third game I was feeling much better.”, he told BWF Website.

Born on July 17, 1992, Prannoy first broke through way back in 2013 and has seen a number of ups and down in his career. There were the odd flashes of brilliance, but they have been few and far between. It will be worth watching if Prannoy can now convert his personal disappointments into a moment of team glory today.