‘I didn’t expect this would happen but Gopi sir kept pushing me’

Kuala Lumpur: Sleep-deprived Indian shuttler HS Prannoy had almost given up on winning his next title and breaking a six-year long drought before chief national coach Pullela Gopichand instilled in him the belief that he remains a force to reckon with.

On Sunday, Prannoy ended the title drought with a three-game win over China’s Weng Hong Yang in a pulsating men’s singles finals at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament here.

“I think there are too many emotions. The last six years have been too much of a rollercoaster. I didn’t expect that it will happen after six years to be honest.

I mean if you would have asked me in 2017 I don’t think I would have told you that I will win in 2023. So lots of mixed emotions,” Prannoy said after the title

triumph.