PBL 2017: Mumbai Rockets' HS Prannoy says his aggression will help him in upcoming season

Indian shuttler HS Prannoy believes it is his aggressive attitude on court which helped him to win all his seven matches in the Premier Badminton League and now he wants to carry the good form on to the international circuit. “I wanted to change my attitude on court. Last few years I think I have been holding myself back but here I played with lot of aggression and I think it will help me in the upcoming season as well,” Prannoy told reporters after his team Mumbai Rockets narrowly lost 3-4 to Chennai Smashers on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_3192892” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of HS Prannoy. Image courtesy: HS Prannoy via Twitter.[/caption] “These seven matches have given me a lot of confidence and I think I am in great form. Aggression is my natural instinct and I just need to keep working on my fitness and everything else will fall into place,” he added. Prannoy, who had clinched the Swiss Open early in the year in 2016, had a difficult year which was plagued by a back injury. “Yes, it’s been very tough. As a player I have started to take injuries as a common thing in my life. I don’t get disappointed. With the back injuries happening just two weeks before PBL, the intent was to play really well. Yes, it’s tough to miss at least 3-4 months in an entire year due to injuries. But I am happy with the way I am managing it,” he said. His teammate in Mumbai Rockets, Jayaram, who has also been in good form in the tournament, said: “I think it has been a see-saw thing but overall have played fairly well this two weeks. Today of course am very disappointed but I can take lot of positives from this tournament.” Asked about the upcoming tournaments, Jayaram said: “I will be leaving for Malaysia tomorrow and after that will play the India Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow. I think it has been little hectic but I hope to do well.” Jayaram said they exceeded their expectations by reaching the finals as they always knew it won’t be easy against such strong teams. “I thought it was difficult to get into the semis considering the strength of other teams. The way we started off and the way we dominated the matches, I think we exceeded our expectations,” he said. Jayaram had conjured up hopes of a Mumbai win after he grabbed the opening game of the deciding tie against world number 11 T Saensomboonsuk, but the Thai player had the last laugh to help Chennai seal the title. “I think I dominated the first game. But the pressure got to me… I missed a few sitters that really gave him the confidence to get back into the game. After that he played a solid game and did not make any mistake. I found it difficult to get out his style of game,” Jayaram said. [caption id=“attachment_3200530” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  PV Sindhu in action against Awadhe Warriors in PBL 2017. Image courtesy: Twitter/@PBLIndiaLive[/caption] Member of the victorious Chennai team, PV Sindhu, said: “We are very happy that we could win. The last match was very crucial and after he lost the first game, we still had hope on Saensomboonsuk and I think he gave his best and we finally won it. All the matches were tough specially in this 11-point system anybody can win.” China Open champion and Olympic silver medallist, Sindhu, outclassed world number three and Dubai Super Series Final runners-up Sung Ji Hyun 11-8, 11-8 in a dominating display to help her team. It was her second win over Hyun in the tournament, having beaten her once in the league stage. Talking about her wins over the Korean, Sindhu said: “It is really important because it’s the starting of the year and it gives me a lot of confidence to move further and play more matches. Definitely we will be meeting in many more tournaments. Of course, it’s a different environment here with 11-point system and also it is a team event.”