[Watch] HS Prannoy gears up for BWF World Tour Finals with a rigorous training session

Indian shuttler HS Prannoy has been putting in the hard yards ahead of his debut at the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from December 7-11.

In a video posted by the Premier Badminton League (PBL) on their Twitter handle on November 21, the World No. 12 can be seen working on both the forehand and backhand wings on the practice court. The Kerala shuttler also threw in the occasional trick shot during the training session.

PBL shared the video with the caption:

"The "Beast" is warming 🆙 💪🔥 Next challenge ➡️ #BWFWorldTour Finals. ⌛👀"

You can watch the video here:

HS Prannoy, who will be India's only representative at the year-ending event, later retweeted the post. Commonwealth Games champion PV Sindhu had also earned a place in the season's top-eight but an ankle injury she suffered during her Commonwealth Game heroics has forced her to pull out.

World No. 7 Lakshya Sen and World No. 11 Kidambi Srikanth, India's top two men's singles shuttlers, failed to qualify for the event.

The BWF World Tour Finals were originally scheduled to be held in Guangzhou, China, from December 14-18. However, due to the current pandemic situation, it was relocated to Bangkok, where it will be hosted by the Nimibutr Arena a week earlier than the original dates.

How has HS Prannoy fared in 2022?

HS Prannoy, who got married in 2022, had a bright year both on and off the court. Following a consistent series of performances, he finds himself ranked third after Viktor Axelsen and Chou Tien Chen in the Race to Guangzhou Rankings.

The Pullela Gopichand protégé's most successful tournament was the Super 300 Swiss Open, where he finished as the runner-up. He also reached the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships and played a key role in India's historic Thomas Cup triumph.

Other than that, the 30-year-old also made the semifinals of the Super 1000 Indonesia Open and the Super 500 Malaysia Masters, along with six other quarterfinals on the circuit.