National coach Gopichand happy with Indian standards
Hyderabad: Shuttler B Sai Praneeth, who recently lifted back-to-back titles – the Singapore Open and Thailand Grand Prix Gold – stated here Tuesday that key to his success lies in his improved fitness.
“Winning titles is always great and important in a player’s career. So I am very happy that I managed to win two in a row at Singapore and Thailand,” Praneeth told reporters here at the Gopichand Badminton Academy.
“I have succeeded because I have become fitter. I really put in a lot of extra effort into my fitness. Before Singapore I trained for six weeks and after that I have trained for a month, and I think that is where it has helped in me playing better,” added the shuttler.
Praneeth also categorically stated that if can continue to improve his fitness levels, he can win more titles. “I have all the strokes that a top international player should possess, it all boils down to how fit I am. The more, I am, the shots come off better,” he asserted.
“All the coaches and everyone know that the only key for my game is fitness. So, I just need to maintain and improve it so that I can play well,” he added.
Praneeth admitted that he was going through one of the best phases of his career at the moment. “Winning back to back titles…this is best phase till now. Also the title triumphs have made me a more confident player,” informed Praneeth.
“Before the upcoming World Championships in August, I play at the Indonesian Open and Australian Open. I have six weeks before the World Championships, and then also more than my strokes, I will work on my fitness,” added the Indian.
Meanwhile, India national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand expressed his happiness on Praneeth’s performance. “I am very happy that Praneeth has won his second tournament this year. He has performed so well and I hope this serves as a motivation for the future as well and we will continue to have more results from him in the next few months and years,” said Gopinath.
“In fact in the last few days we had some great successes. At the Sudirman Cup, our team had a very good outing. I am very happy that we were able to beat Indonesia 4-1. All the players whether in singles or doubles performed exceptionally well in the event. The overall performance has been very satisfactory to me as a coach,” added Gopichand.
PTI
