Indian women shuttlers have been the flag-bearers in setting high standards, says HS Prannoy

Saina Nehwal and then PV Sindhu are the players who have successfully held the batten in the women’s singles category for India over the last few years. They have both managed to win medals in the greatest platform of Olympics. Apart from them, Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponappa have also managed to make a mark in the doubles category. And Prannoy seemed delighted with the development of the sport because of their contribution.

"The women have been the flag-bearers in setting high standards. Be it World Championships or Olympics or any big event, they have proven their mettle," Prannoy said as quoted by IANS.

Prannoy returned to Hyderabad in the first week of February to resume training in the national camp after he was sidelined due to a wart on his foot. He may not be fully fit for the All England Badminton Championships, which is scheduled to start on March 14, where he is pitted against eighth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

The 25-year-old has, however, admitted the importance of participating in the prestigous tournament and has claimed that it would help him get into the groove ahead of the Commonwealth Games starting in April.

"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. 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. The tournament and you see the crowd, they lift you," said Prannoy.

Prannoy, who defeated Kidambi Srikanth in the final of the National Championships in 2017 November, also claimed that he still has to learn a lot of things from the World No. 2 player.