India Open 2018: HS Prannoy forced to play with foot corn, says he couldn't afford to pull out due to BWF rules

 New Delhi: While Saina Nehwal was easing past Denmark’s Sofie Holmboe Dahl on Court 3, HS Prannoy was having a brief chat with the chair umpire on Court 1. He gave away points cheaply in the opening game and as a result, lost the opening game 4-21 to unseeded Shreyansh Jaiswal. This caught the eye of the fans, as the World No 10 shuttler couldn’t even send the shuttle across the net in the second stanza.

In a matter of just 13 minutes, the tie was over. Jaiswal, who competed at his maiden Superseries event, moved into the second round with a 21-4, 21-6 win. The result was a huge shock for the fans considering Prannoy’s ranking and form. However, the 25-year-old later revealed that he was forced to play the match despite carrying a foot corn that bothered him to move around with ease.

“I just participated here because of the new BWF rule of 12 mandatory tournaments. I already missed two tournaments in the start. I couldn’t afford another one so early in the season,” Prannoy told a select group of journalists after the loss.

Been away from badminton courts since last few weeks because of a bad corn in the foot. And doctors negligence made it worse 🤦‍♀️. Pretty much disappointed that I could not play in front of my own home support. Hope to be back soon 😊 pic.twitter.com/8knajVFXNS

— PRANNOY HS (@PRANNOYHSPRI) January 31, 2018

The revamped BWF schedule makes it mandatory for the top-15 singles players to compete in at least 12 tournaments out of the Super 1000, Super 750 and Super 500 events. After missing out on playing the first two Super 500 tournaments at Malaysia and Indonesia, participating at the India Open was a must for Prannoy.

Prannoy developed several foot corns during the business end of the recently-concluded Premier Badminton League and surprisingly, it was doctor’s negligence that resulted in his unsuccessful treatment. “The procedure (to remove the corn) that my doctor suggested two weeks ago, was not proper. I tried doing it in Hyderabad too but things did not go well for me,” Prannoy said.

The Kunnur-born shuttler last competed at the Hong Kong Superseries in November, where he lost in last 16 of the competition. The injury has hampered his chances of practicing properly and hence Prannoy couldn’t manage to win. “This is something very unexpected and is affecting me mentally. But what to do? We just need to accept certain things and move on,” he added.

Had Prannoy pulled out of the tie after losing the opening game, he would have to compromise with the all-important ranking points. Also, another BWF rule states that a player cannot concede the match to fellow countrymen. So, in order to save ranking points, Prannoy continued playing against Jaiswal.

Interestingly, Prannoy participated in 17 tournaments last season but he was quick to blame BWF’s cramped scheduling for the 2018 season. This, however, shows that the new rule hasn’t sunk in well for the top players. Some of the top players have even voiced their opinions about the cramped scheduling.

Moreover, this also highlights the onerous task of keeping up with back-to-back tournaments and gathering the points to maintain their spot on the BWF table in such a short time frame. “It is not easy for people to understand what we go through. I am not 20 anymore, I have to keep myself fit to be able to play for long and you see the calendar, it is a killing calendar and we don’t know when and how which tournament we will play and what happens next,” said Saina when asked about the scheduling.

Saina too played 13 tournaments last year but she suggested that the BWF should rethink over the scheduling of the tournaments. “I tell you the sport is killing. It is a tough calendar for players. I just feel that it should be reduced. I understand the point of sponsorship and money and not on at the condition that players are not going to play well and not give their best. We will not have a champion, we will only have tournaments,” she concluded.