When news of HS Prannoy becoming Premier Badminton League's (PBL) costliest buy this season first broke on Monday, his father Sunil Kumar's mind raced back to a disturbing image. Halfway through last year's PBL season, lying on a hospital bed in Bengaluru, Prannoy had held his hand in a tight clasp with an insistent plea. "I had travelled to Bengaluru to watch him play and could sense he was struggling to finish his match. Soon after it was over, I was informed that he was suffering from breathlessness and had been rushed to the hospital by (Pullela) Gopichand. I asked Prannoy to allow his body some rest and withdraw from the league but he just wouldn't listen. There was no way I could convince him," says Kumar.
Somewhere along the line, all that Prannoy was willing to put his body and mind through for it, appears to have paid off.
In comparison to his bid last season of Rs. 25 lakh, the World No. 15 Indian was acquired for a staggering (by badminton standards) Rs. 62 lakh - an almost 150 percent increase - by new franchise Ahmedabad Smash Masters. Prannoy's name was on almost every team's wish list before the bidding war came down to a two-way tussle between the Smash Masters and his former franchise Mumbai Rockets. And it was with good reason. Last season in the PBL, Prannoy went unbeaten, the only player with a 100 percent win record, with PV Sindhu holding the next-best figures of 85.7 percent. The interest generated and money splurged also underscores his contribution, winning 14 of the 17 games he played in seven matches to take the Rockets to the final last year.
While Prannoy's performance is well-told in numbers, to become the kind of buy which would have franchises rummaging through their purses certainly came as a surprise to the 25-year-old. "It was really unexpected. Auctions work that way, sometimes you can get really lucky. But I'm happy. It shows that the league and Indian badminton are headed to a good place," Prannoy tells ESPN.
For someone who until seven years ago could barely afford to travel to three international tournaments in a year, big money also means an avenue to invest back into the sport. A full-time trainer, Prannoy says, is what he can probably think of affording now. "I have never given money too much thought. But when I look at what I need most at this stage of my career, it would be a physio who would always be by my side during sessions and tournaments, through rest and recovery."
It also means that the money is a lot more than what one could get for a Superseries title win. With a 7.5% share stipulation of the total prize fund earmarked for the men's singles winner, next week's Denmark Open title, for instance, could fetch the champion only around $56,250 (Rs 37 lakhs). "Yes yes, the money is getting bigger in the league. But with being the biggest buy also comes greater responsibility to deliver. My last season's performance was quite phenomenal and there were some personal reasons which pushed me to do so. I hope I can live up to the expectations this time."
The format of the PBL, Prannoy says, is also an advantage. "In an individual sport like ours all you care about are your own matches. But through this league there is a sense of belonging to a team which is built and in many ways it takes the pressure off individual players."
In June this year, after three months on the sidelines, Prannoy returned to slay two of the biggest names in the men's game - Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long - en route to making his maiden Superseries semifinal in Indonesia. In the following weekend, he found himself in an all-Indian final at the US Open, where he prevailed against stable mate Parupalli Kashyap. Four more Super series tournaments - in Denmark, China, France and Hong Kong - over the next month now await him.
A packed calendar also pushes time with his family to a bare minimum. Since he's rarely home in Thiruvananthapuram for festivities or family celebrations, Prannoy brings his parents to Hyderabad for a week, once every year. Another promise he dutifully keeps is the PBL. His father has made peace with the arrangement. "PBL is when we get to spend a few days together and watch him play to packed stands. We're willing to wait 11 months for it."