HS Prannoy is known to be a slow starter. The 32-year-old tends to take his own sweet time to get used to the court, shuttle speed and overall conditions before bringing into effect his lethal blows.

Sunday was no different for the world No.12 as German Fabian Roth matched shot-for-shot at the start of the men’s singles Group K contest, but Prannoy timely upped the ante to claim a 21-18, 21-12 win on his Olympic debut.

While the world No.82 was able to string together long rallies in his first meeting against the Indian, he lacked the experience when Prannoy countered with flat exchanges.

After keeping a steady game in slow conditions, Roth slowly started buckling under pressure, first towards the end of the opening game, and then in the second as Prannoy completed a 45-minute win at Paris’ Porte de la Chapelle Arena.

Despite being behind at the start of the contest, a much leaner looking Prannoy, who recently recovered from a bout of Chikungunya, looked not anxious but resolute, thanks to years of work that has gone into training his mind.

“The consistent work that has gone in for the last three-and-a-half years with the psychologists is coming good for me to kind of work for a long-term period. Without their help it would have been nearly impossible as badminton is totally a game of confidence. There are a lot of things that are mental out there,” says Prannoy.

“It is really important to do the homework and find that good space. In these kind of big events, there are going to be big crowds, you might be under pressure, so it is really important that you find that correct state of mind to work with discipline and that’s what a psychologist gets you to do really well.”

Prannoy has been working with Chennai-based sports psychologist Ateka Vanak for the last three-and-a-half years after working with Vanak’s colleague and former Israeli fencer Mon Brokman.

“It is a constant practice like how we do on-court and gym sessions. Constantly work on it and you keep getting better. When things are going well you feel it is much easier to play because your confidence is so high, but if the confidence is low, it is important to work (on your mental health) and find that confidence,” added Prannoy.

Prannoy will next take on world No.71 Le Duc Phat of Vietnam on Wednesday. If he wins, he will qualify for the Round of 16.

Sindhu off the mark

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu also got off to a winning start after she beat world No.111 Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq of Maldives 21-9, 21-6 in a women’s singles Group M contest.

This was the second win for the world No.13 in as many meetings. She will next take on world No.73 Kristin Kuuba of Estonia on Wednesday. If she wins, Sindhu will qualify for the Round of 16.

Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, however, fought hard but lost their women’s doubles Group C match 18-21, 10-21 to 2023 All England champions, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists and No.8 Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea late on Saturday.

They next play world No.4 and 2022 All England champions Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida of Japan on Monday.

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