His body has been ravaged by a spate of illnesses, the most recent being a bout of chikungunya, but seasoned Indian badminton player H S Prannoy is unwilling to let it come in the way of a dream Olympic debut that is happening a tad late in his career. He is focused on building his stamina for the grind that awaits him in Paris later this month and helping him is his coach and former player RMV Gurusaidutt. The 32-year-old Kerala shuttler, a 2022 Thomas Cup title winner and a World and Asian Games bronze-medallist, has battled past a chronic stomach disorder, a nagging back injury, and more recently a week-long bout of the mosquito-borne viral disease.

“The preparations that we started after the Australia Open, those are on point, we are on the right track,” Gurusaidutt told PTI.

“The best thing about Prannoy in this entire journey is that though he was struggling, he was showing up for training and giving his best. Of course now, since he had another rough patch, it is not easy to get into the winning momentum,” he explained.

But Gurusaidutt is confident nonetheless and does not feel that the latest illness will trigger “too many changes” in Prannoy’s training routine.

“He has been that kind of a player who steps up on big occasions. He’s done that multiple times over the last three or four years. So, as a coach, me and Gopi sir (national coach Pullela Gopichand) have that confidence in him.” Following the high of his world championship bronze in 2023, Prannoy was laid low by another stomach disorder, a condition which was similar to the chronic acid reflux problem that he had suffered in the past. Such was complexity of his illness that it was difficult for him to have a meal without wanting to throw up later.

The result was six first-round exits and a semifinal and a quarterfinal appearance this year. But he has persevered.

Gurusaidutt said the coaching team has introduced some specific drills to address the minor issues, mainly related to speed and enduring long rallies.

“We wanted to introduce a few programs. Gopi sir thought he needed to play longer matches…Based on the last 3-4 tournaments, I particularly felt people were trying to push him at the pace in terms of making him move quickly “…there is not too much time for him to get space between the shots. So that was something that we thought we could make it easier for him in training. Otherwise, it was about getting him confidence, and getting his fitness levels up. Those were the major aspects,” he said.

Elaborating on the need to step up his pace, Gurusaidutt said, “…we wanted work on it to prepare him for somebody playing some sharp shots, and cross-courts. So, it was meant to make him feel comfortable for those things.

“So, once he picks those up, he gets into his style, that’s where the game changes usually. If somebody is pushing at him constantly, once he is out of that, once he survives it then he gets into his zone again.”

“Flexibility and unpredictability will be key”

Gurusaidutt, a 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist, feels Prannoy also needs to mix things up, be flexible but not predictable.

“We should have a counter when someone is attacking him but also we need to make sure that he’s not too defensive. He has to mix up a lot, not be predictable in one style of play.”

Want to be a little pressure-free: Prannoy

It will be Prannoy’s maiden Olympics and he said he wants to keep things “simple and usual” without taking unnecessary pressure.

“I think everyone just wants to talk about Paris. But I just want to be a little bit more pressure-free, kind of enjoy it a little bit more and just take it as one more tournament in my career,” Prannoy had said during an earlier interview with PTI.

“So from a preparation point of view, I think for me it’s really important to kind of get back to basics…I was not there mentally in a lot of matches. So I think that’s what I tried to do and just try to be a little bit more simple and usual.”

India will be represented by 117 athletes at this month’s Paris Olympics after the sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 have been approved at “cost to the government” to meet the “requirements” of the travelling sportspersons. The only qualified athlete missing from the list is shot-putter Abha Khatua. The Games will run from July 26 to August 11. Khatua, who made the cut through world rankings quota, has been dropped without any explanation after her name was found missing from the World Athletics’ list of Olympic participants a few days ago.

There is no word yet on whether her name has been knocked off owing to injury, a doping violation or any other technical issue.

The rest of the contingent that has been cleared is on expected lines with London Olympics bronze medal-winning former shooter Gagan Narang as chef-de-mission. Narang is also a vice president in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

“The permissible limit for stay of support personnel in the Games Village against accreditation as per norms of the Paris Organising Committee for the 2024 Olympic Games is 67 including 11 1OA Contingent Officials, which includes five Medical Team Members,” stated a letter from the ministry to IOA President P T Usha, explaining the ratio of support staff allowed as per the size of the contingent.

“For catering to the requirements of the athletes, additional coaches and other support staff numbering 72 have been approved at cost to the Government and arrangements for their stay have been made in Hotels/in locations outside the Games Village,” it added.

Despite Khatua’s absence, athletics will make for the biggest group in the contingent with 29 names (11 women and 18 men), followed by shooting (21) and hockey (19).

Table tennis will be represented by eight players, while badminton (7) will feature seven competitors, including two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu.

Wrestling (6), archery (6), and boxing (6) will have six representatives each, followed by golf (4), tennis (3), swimming (2), sailing (2), and one each for equestrian, judo, rowing and weightlifting.

The shooting contingent, which is the second biggest, consists of 11 women and 10 men, while table tennis will have four players each in both categories.

Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu is the lone weightlifter in the contingent and will compete in women’s 49kg category.

In Tokyo Olympics, India were represented by a 119-member contingent, and the country logged its best-ever performance of seven medals, including the historic javelin throw gold by Neeraj Chopra. Chopra will be there in Paris to defend his medal.

Besides, there will 21 contingent officials of which 11 will be accommodated at the Games Village, including Narang, two Deputy Chef de Mission, Press Attache, two Headquarter Officials and five medical team members.

The remaining 10 officials (eight medical team members, social media attache and a team official) will be accommodated in hotels outside the Games Village, the cost of which will be borne by the government.

Shooting (18) will have the highest number of support staff, which includes one High Performance Director and six coaches, who will stay at the Games Village while the remaining 11 (four coaches, four physios, two psychologists, one strength and conditioning expert) will stay in hotels.

Athletics will have 17 support staff members, followed by wrestling (12), boxing (11), hockey (10), table tennis (9), badminton (9), golf (7), equestrian (5), archery (4), sailing (4), weightlifting (4) tennis (3), swimming (2) and judo (1).

The ministry letter further stated that Air Commodore Prashant Arya, Air Attache in Embassy of India at Paris will be Olympic Attache, who will have accreditation, and will be visiting the Games Village and competition venues to take care of any issues requiring assistance and intervention of the Embassy.

The golf competition will be conducted at the Le Golf National in Guyancourt, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which is around 42km from Paris. To ensure hassle-free travel and practice arrangements, the Indian golf contingent will stay at a hotel near the venue instead of the Games Village.

“…accordingly arrangements for accommodation for members of the Golf Team, including players, coaches, physio and caddy at the request of the Golf players and Indian Golf Union have been made in a Hotel near the competition venue,” the ministry said in its letter.

In a bid to avoid doping embarrassment in Paris, the government has asked the IOA and concerned federations to take appropriate measures.

“The IOA, SAI, National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and concerned National Sports Federations may take appropriate measures for conducting the dope tests. IOA may also ensure fitness of the team/individual sportsperson prior to their departure,” it said.

Besides, the Paris Organising Committee will provide three cars for the Indian contingent without drivers.

“Embassy of India at Paris has been requested to assist in identification and temporary employment for these drivers,” the ministry letter stated. 

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were on Friday handed easy groups for the Paris Games beginning on July 26. Sindhu, who won the silver medal at the Rio Games and followed that with a bronze in Tokyo Olympics, has been seeded 10th. The World number 13 has been drawn in Group M of the women’s singles alongside Kristin Kuuba of Estonia (WR 75) and Maldives’ Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq. (WR 111). While Sindhu, who is vying for a third Olympic medal, has a relatively easy group, she could face China’s sixth seed He Bing Jiao in the round of 16.

If she gets past Jiao, Sindhu will likely face Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China in the quarterfinals.

The 29-year-old has not had the smoothest of runs in the lead up to the Olympics and it will take a special effort from her to a complete a hat-trick of medals at the Summer Games.

Meanwhile, Prannoy, who will be making his Olympic debut, has been seeded 13th and will have to go past Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat (WR 70) and Fabian Roth (WR 82) of Germany in Group K of the men’s singles event.

The second Indian in the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen, ranked 19, has been drawn in Group L.

The unseeded Lakshya has third seed and world number three Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in his group. They both are joined by Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon (WR 41) and Belgium’s Julien Carragi (WR 52).

Lakshya has an inferior 1-4 head-to-head record against Christie with the Indonesian getting the better of the 22-year-old twice this year already.

If both Prannoy and Lakshya can top their group, they will meet each other in the round of 16.

World number 19 pairing of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa has been drawn in a difficult Group C in the women’s doubles event.

The Indians have been clubbed alongside world number 4 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist South Korea’s Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong (WR 7) and Australians Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu (WR 27).

The star Indian men’s pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty is probably India’s best bet for a medal. The duo has been seeded third in men’s doubles event.

However, the men’s doubles draw for the Paris Olympics was postponed due to a Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) hearing over the number of pairs in the draw.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is yet to confirm the date of the draw.

The badminton events at the Olympics will begin on July 27. 

The highly anticipated Olympics 2024 are all set to kick-start from July 26 and will conclude on August 11. The Olympics will be hosted in Paris and a total of 206 countries will be participating from all over the world. The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 45 different sports, including 41 that are considered mainstay Olympic sports. Four new sports like breaking, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing have also been included in this edition’ roster. India will be sending close to 120 athletes to Paris for the upcoming Olympic games in French capital.

India will look to outdo its tally of seven medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which included a gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.

Ahead of the marquee event, here’s a list of all the Indian athletes who have secured a spot in Olympics 2024.

Archery:

Dhiraj Bommadevara: Men’s team

Tarundeep Rai: Men’s team

Pravin Jadhav: Men’s team

Bhajan Kaur: Women’s team

Deepika Kumari: Women’s team

Ankita Bhakat: Women’s team

Athletics:

Akshdeep Singh: Men’s 20km race walk

Vikash Singh: Men’s 20km race walk

Paramjeet Singh Bisht: Men’s 20km race walk

Priyanka Goswami: Women’s 20km race walk

Avinash Sable: Men’s 3000m steeplechase

Parul Chaudhary: Women’s 3000m steeplechase, women’s 5000m steeplechase

Jyothi Yarraji: Women’s 100m hurdles

Kiran Pahal: Women’s 400m

Tajinderpal Singh Toor: Men’s shot put

Abha Khatua: Women’s shot put

Neeraj Chopra: Men’s javelin throw

Kishore Jena: Men’s javelin throw

Annu Rani: Women’s javelin throw

Sarvesh Kushare: Men’s high jump

Praveen Chithravel: Men’s triple jump

Abdulla Aboobacker: Men’s triple jump

Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, Santhosh Tamilarasan, and Rajesh Ramesh: Men’s 4x400m relay

Mijo Chaco Kurian: 4x400m relay and 4x400m mixed relay

Vidhya Ramaraj, Jyothika Sri Dandi, MR Poovamma, Subha Venkatesan, and Prachi: Women’s 4x400m relay

Prachi: 4x400m mixed relay

Priyanka Goswami/Suraj Panwar: Race walk mixed marathon

Badminton:

H.S Prannoy: Men’s singles

Lakshya Sen: Men’s singles

P.V Sindhu: Women’s singles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty: Men’s doubles

Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto: Women’s doubles

Boxing:

Nikhat Zareen: Women’s 50kg

Amit Phangal: Men’s 51kg

Nishant Dev: Men’s 71kg

Preeti Pawar: Women’s 54kg

Lovlina Borgohain: Women’s 75kg

Jaismine Lamboria: Women’s 57kg

Equestrian:

Anush Agarwalla: Dressage

Golf:

Subhankar Sharma: Men’s golf

Gaganjeet Bhullar: Men’s golf

Aditi Ashok: Women’s golf

Diksha Dagar: Women’s golf

Hockey:

P.R Sreejesh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rogidas, Harmanpreet Singh(c), Sumit, Sanjay, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh: Men’s hockey team

Judo:

Tulika Mann: Women’s 78kg

Rowing:

Balraj Panwar: M1x

Sailing:

Vishnu Saravanan: Men’s one person dinghy

Nethra Kumanan: Women’s one person dinghy

Shooting:

Prithviraj Tondaiman: Men’s trap

Rajeshwari Kumari: Women’s trap

Shreyasi Singh: Women’s trap

Anantjeet Singh Naruka: Men’s skeet

Raiza Dhillon: Women’s skeet

Maheshwari Chauhan: Women’s skeet

Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Maheshwari Chauhan: Skeet mixed team

Sandeep Singh: Men’s 10m air rifle

Arjun Babuta: Men’s 10m air rifle

Elavenil Valarivan: Women’s 10m air rifle

Ramita Jindal: Women’s 10m air rifle

Swapnil Kusale: Men’s 50m rifle 3 position

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar: Men’s 50m rifle 3 position

Sift Kaur Samra: Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions

Anjum Moudgil: Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions

Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan: 10m air rifle mixed team

Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal: 10m air rifle mixed team

Arjun Cheema: Men’s 10m air pistol

Sarabjot Singh: Men’s 10m air pistol

Manu Bhaker: Women’s 10m air pistol

Rhythm Sangwam: Women’s 10m air pistol

Vijayveer Sidhu: Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol

Anish Bhanwala: Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol

Manu Bhaker: Women’s 25m pistol

Esha Singh: Women’s 25m pistol

Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker: 10m air pistol mixed team

Arjun Cheema/Rhythm Sangwam: 10m air pistol mixed team

Swimming:

Dhinidhi Desinghu: Women’s 200m freestyle

Srihari Nataraj: Men’s 100m backstroke

Table Tennis:

Sharath Kamal: Men’s singles and men’s team

Harmeet Desai: Men’s singles and men’s team

Manav Thakkar: Men’s team

Manika Batra: Women’s singles and women’s team

Sreeja Akula: Women’s singles and women’s team

Archana Kamath: Women’s team

Tennis:

Sumit Nagal: Men’s singles

Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji: Men’s doubles

Weightlifting:

Mirabai Chanu: Women’s 49kg

Wrestling:

Aman Sehrawat: Men’s freestyle 57kg

Vinesh Phogat: Women’s 50kg

Anshu Malik: Women’s 57kg

Nisha Dahiya: Women’s 68kg

Reetika Hooda: Women’s 76kg

Antim Phangal: Women’s 53kg

Zhang Zhijie, a 17-year-old Chinese badminton player, died after collapsing on the court during the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as per a report in Marca. The shuttler was playing against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano in the opening game on June 30, which was tied 11-11 when he collapsed. He was immediately given medical treatment, however, he was declared dead at the hospital.

Badminton Asia and the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) said in a joint statement on Monday, “China’s Zhang Zhijie, a singles player, collapsed on the court during a match in the evening. He was sent to the hospital where he passed away at 23:20 local time yesterday. He was attended to by the tournament doctor and medical team. He was taken in the standby ambulance in less than two minutes and sent to hospital.”

“The world of badminton has lost a talented player,” the statement added.

Videos of the incident recently went viral on the internet, showing a 40-second wait before Zhang was attended to by emergency personnel. There has been harsh criticism directed at officials, with many questioning if prompt medical assistance might have saved his life. In the short clip, a man is seen running to help the shuttler after he collapses, however, he stops mid-way and waits for further instruction.

According to the BBC, a PBSI spokesman later said that “medical teams had to follow a rule where they needed the referee’s permission before entering the court.” He said, “That is in accordance with the regulations and standards of procedure that applies to every international badminton tournament.” Meanwhile, the Indonesian badminton body declared that he had experienced a sudden cardiac arrest.

The young player, who originally hailed from Jiaxing in the Chinese province of Zhejiang, joined the national junior squad in 2023 and won many championships, including the team and men’s titles in Group B of the China Badminton Junior Championships in 2023 and 2024.

The China Badminton Association also expressed deep sorrow and shock. “Zhang Zhijie loved badminton and was an outstanding athlete of the national youth badminton team,” they said. The statement continued, “At present the local hospital has not yet identified the cause of death.”

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu also took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her condolences. She wrote, “Absolutely heartbreaking news coming from the Junior Asian Badminton Championships about the loss of young badminton player Zhang Zhi Jie.”

Absolutely heartbreaking news coming from the Junior Asian Badminton Championships about the loss of young badminton player Zhang Zhi Jie.

I offer my deepest condolences to Zhang’s family during this devastating time. The world has lost a remarkable talent today.

— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) June 30, 2024

“I offer my deepest condolences to Zhang’s family during this devastating time. The world has lost a remarkable talent today,” she continued.

File photo of Lakshya Sen.© X (formerly Twitter)

File photo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (right) and Chirag Shetty© X (formerly Twitter)