Prakash Padukone


Prakash Padukone is a former Indian badminton player. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1980; the same year he became the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982 by the Government of India. He is one of the co-founders of Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Olympic sports in India.

Background and early life

Padukone was born on 10 June 1955 in Padukone village near Kundapura, Udupi. His father, Ramesh, was a secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association.
Padukone married Ujjala, as arranged by their parents in the Indian Hindu system. He has two daughters, Deepika and Anisha.

Career

Prakash was initiated into the game by his father Ramesh Padukone, who was the Secretary of the "Mysore Badminton Association" for many years.
Padukone's first official tournament was the Karnataka state junior championship in 1962. Though he lost in the very first round, two years later he managed to win the state junior title. He changed his playing style into a more aggressive style in 1971, and won the Indian national junior title in 1972. He also won the senior title the same year. He won the National title consecutively for the next seven years. In 1978, he won his first major international title, the men's singles gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada. In 1979, he won the "Evening of Champions" at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
In 1980, he won the Danish Open, the Swedish Open and became the first Indian to win the men's singles title at the All England Championship with a victory over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King. He spent much of his international career training in Denmark, and developed close friendships with European players such as Morten Frost.

Other services

After his retirement from competitive sports in 1991, Padukone served as the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a short while. He also served as the coach of the Indian national badminton team from 1993 to 1996.

Olympic gold quest

After retirement, Prakash Padukone has sought to mentor budding young players and help them achieve glory for the country. He runs the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy and, along with Geet Sethi, he is a co-founder of Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Olympic sports in India.

Achievements

World Championships

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1983Brøndbyhallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Icuk Sugiarto15–9, 7–15, 1–15 Bronze

World Cup

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1981Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Han Jian15–0, 18–16 Gold

World Games

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1981San Jose Civic Auditorium, California, United States Chen Changjie14–18, 16–18 Bronze

Asian Championships

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1976Hyderabad, India Liem Swie King8–15, 3–15 Bronze

Commonwealth Games

Men's singles
YearVenueOpponentScoreResult
1978Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Derek Talbot15–9, 15–8 Gold

International Tournaments

Men's singles
YearTournamentOpponentScoreResult
1979India Open Dhany Sartika15–10, 11–15, 12–15 Runner-up
1979English Masters Morten Frost15–4, 15–11 Winner
1980Copenhagen Cup Morten Frost Runner-up
1980Denmark Open Morten Frost15–7, 18–13 Winner
1980All England Liem Swie King15–3, 15–10 Winner
1980Swedish Open Rudy Hartono9–15, 15–12, 15–1 Winner
1981Denmark Open Morten Frost7–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1981All England Liem Swie King15–11, 4–15, 6–15 Runner-up
1981English Masters Luan Jin9–15, 8–15 Runner-up
1981India Open Han Jian9–15, 15–5, 15–12 Winner
1981Scandinavian Open Morten Frost4–15, 11–15 Runner-up
1982Dutch Open Ray Stevens5–15, 15–2, 15–2 Winner
1982Denmark Open Morten Frost7–15, 8–15 Runner-up
1982Scandinavian Open Morten Frost3–15, 4–15 Runner-up
1983Chinese Taipei Open Icuk Sugiarto10–15, 8–15 Runner-up
1983Japan Open Han Jian15–6, 8–15, 9–15 Runner-up
1983Dutch Open Morten Frost11–15, 4–15 Runner-up
1983Scandinavian Open Morten Frost17–18, 2–15 Runner-up
1983India Open Morten Frost7–15, 13–15 Runner-up
1984Thailand Open Icuk Sugiarto15–13, 5–15, 4–15 Runner-up
1985Chinese Taipei Open Lius Pongoh15–5, 9–15, 10–15 Runner-up

Men's doubles
YearTournamentPartnerOpponentScoreResult
1981Japan Open Flemming Delfs Christian Hadinata
Lius Pongoh		4–15, 5–15 Runner-up
1988U.S. Open Liem Swie King Christian Hadinata
Lius Pongoh		15–7, 11–15, 13–15 Runner-up