Feels great to beat my childhood hero: Prannoy

New Delhi - After causing the upset of the day by beating former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat, H.S. Prannoy Thursday said he had learned how to play badminton by watching the Indonesian since his childhood.

Prannoy beat Taufik 26-24, 21-9 in the second round of India Open Super Series here Thursday.

“It was my childhood dream to play against Taufik. I have been watching his game for the last 10 years and I am a big fan of his. I used to see him play and imitate his backhands and forehands. To a large extent I learned how to play like him by just watching him,” said the 20-year-old.

Prannoy added that he did not think about winning as he was too occupied about just playing the former World Champion.

“Honestly, I didn’t really think about winning. But before the match I thought if I can play well I can win. A player like Taufik is very moody. If he wants to win he will give it his best, if he doesn’t feel like he’ll lose. In the end it turned out to be an easy win.”

Asked if he had any specific game plan for facing Taufik, Prannoy said he tried not to make the same errors which compatriot Parupalli Kashyap made Wednesday. Kashyap lost his first round match against Taufik.

“I avoided playing him at the net because that is where he is the strongest. Today was not his day plus he is physically not that fit anymore. I knew his strokes and had planned it out with my coach how to play him. I saw what happened in Kashyap’s match and tried not to make the same errors,” said Prannoy, who is likely to face World No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the quarters.