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There is the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Davis Cup World group matches coming up this year and it was not surprising to see Prakash do a rethink on the issue.
According to sports ministry’s rules, Prakash, who holds a US passport, is currently not eligible to play for India.
“The US passport has been useful for me since I have been training there with my coaches. In that way it’s been of great help and at the end of the day it’s all about playing the best tennis possible.
“(But) I am trying to figure out the issue of getting an Indian passport as playing for the country has always been my prime priority,” said Prakash, after making it to the main draw of the Chennai Open.
Having been the beneficiary of wild cards in the past seven years, Prakash gave a good account of himself while grinding his way through three tough qualifying matches this time.
“It’s nice to have some matches behind you before meeting the big names in the tournament proper. When I landed here my goal was to qualify and now I am happy to have achieved that. My game is improving with every match and I guess I am in the right direction. I am hoping to continue the momentum,” said Prakash.
Prakash attributed his form to good off-season training. “I started the preparation a little earlier and improving my physical fitness was my objective. I worked for about four and half weeks on improving my fitness,” he pointed out.