Focus is on endurance ahead of World Championships: HS Prannoy

"I had a decent two weeks of training. There was nothing different, but courts in Japan tend to be on the slower side, so the focus was on endurance more," Prannoy, who will open his campaign against Austria's Luka Wraber, told PTI. "During the Olympics, the conditions were faster, but mostly, it is on the slower side.

Also, there is the Japan Open next, so I think endurance will be important." Prannoy had reached the quarterfinals at the last edition of World Championships in Spain. With a run of quarterfinals, three semifinals and a runners-up finish this season, Prannoy has emerged as one of the most consistent Indian shuttlers in the international circuit. Following his impressive run, the former world number 8 broke back into the top 20.

"It has been tough. The ranking was not unfrozen and moving even one ranking point up was tough. I needed to reach the quarters, semifinals and finals in the superseries events (world tour) to fill the gap.

"At the start of the year, I was ranked 29th or 30th and from there on, consistent performance helped me to slowly get into the top 20." Not too long ago Prannoy was struggling with health issues after being diagnosed with a gastroesophageal reflux disease during the 2018 World Championships. Once he recovered from it, he was struck by Covid-19 in November 2020, the effects of which lingered, and had a huge impact on his performance. But Prannoy has never stopped trying out new concepts to ensure he gets his game back.