Prajnesh Gunneswaran speaks on his return to the court after two months of enforced holiday

 

Current India number two tennis player,  Prajnesh Gunneswaran, has said that It was good to play tennis after missing the action for over two months due to the coronavirus-enforced holiday.

In an interview with PTI, the top player said it would take some time to get back into rythm due to the long holiday.

While stating that it was fun to be back, Gunneswaran, who returned to the courts last week with a training session at the SDAT Nungambakkam stadium, practiced with fellow countrymen, Sasikumar Mukund and Manish Sureshkumar.

All activities, including tennis, was brought to a grinding halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic that left over 428,000 people dead globally. India currently has over 332,000 confirmed cases, with about 170,000  recovered and 9,520 deaths recorded so far.

Prajnesh, who is ranked 132 in the world, said he would begin the process slowly with short sessions and then build up to regain his rhythm and fitness.

As part of the strict health protocol to prevent another spike of the dreaded virus, the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) only permitted Prajnesh, Mukund, and Sureshkumar to use the court facilities for now.

Also speaking, Mukund, who began training a day earlier than Prajnesh, said it felt good to be back on the court. The talented player hit with Sureshkumar for nearly one and a half hours on Friday.

On the rescheduled US Open that will hold in August, Prajnesh said the gap between those who can play the rich tournament and those who cannot will only get wider. This is because the organizers are not sure qualification will be held as they are trying to avoid gatherings that could lead to another spike of COVID-19.

Prajnesh was in the main draw last August but was ousted by eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev. The top Indian player added that it would be hard to narrow the gap this year and even in the early part of next year.

 

 

Written by:  Oladipupo Mojeed