Prakash Padukone
Encyclopedia
Prakash Padukone (born June 10, 1955) is a former badminton
player from Karnataka
, India
. Among other championships, he won the All England Championship and became the first Indian to do so. Prakash was awarded the Padma Sri in 1982. He, along with Geet Sethi
, have co-founded Olympic Gold Quest
which is a Foundation for the Promotion of Sports in India.
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 Indian national title consecutively for the next seven years, until 1979. In 1978, he won his first major international title, the men's singles gold medal at the 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 coveted 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
.
After his retirement in 1991, he was the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a short while. He was the coach of the Indian national badminton team in 1993 and 1996.
-speaking community of Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins.
He currently lives in Bangalore
with wife Ujjala and two daughters, and runs the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna award
in 1972 and the Padma Shri
in 1982.
He recently had his biography released at the 2006 nationals. The book, Touchplay, is written by Dev Sukumar.
Prakash is also the father of model turned actress, Deepika Padukone
and Anisha Padukone whose aim is to become a golfer.
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
player from Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Among other championships, he won the All England Championship and became the first Indian to do so. Prakash was awarded the Padma Sri in 1982. He, along with Geet Sethi
Geet Sethi
Geet Siriram Sethi of India is a professional player of English billiards who dominated the sport throughout much of the 1990s, and a notable amateur snooker player. He is a six-time winner of the professional-level and a three-time winner of the amateur World Championships, and holder of two...
, have co-founded Olympic Gold Quest
Olympic Gold Quest
Olympic Gold Quest is a program of the Foundation Of Sports And Games , started by Indian sporting icons Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone to identify and support Indian athletes with a proven track record and who have the potential to win Olympic gold medals...
which is a Foundation for the Promotion of Sports in India.
Career
Prakash was initiated into the game at a tender age 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
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
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 Indian national title consecutively for the next seven years, until 1979. In 1978, he won his first major international title, the men's singles gold medal at the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Canada. In 1979, he won the Evening of Champions at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
In 1980, he won the Danish Open
Denmark Open
The Denmark Open, or formerly known as Danish Open, is an annual badminton tournament held in Denmark and organized by Danmarks Badminton Forbund.- History :...
, the Swedish Open
Swedish Open (badminton)
The Swedish Open was an open badminton tournament that was annually held from 1956 to 1999 after which the organizer, Svenska Badmintonförbundet, could no longer find a suitable sponsor. To some extent it has been replaced by the Swedish International Stockholm tournament.-Winners:...
and became the first Indian to win the coveted men's singles title at the All England Championship with a victory over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King
Liem Swie King
Liem Swie King is a former Indonesian badminton player who excelled from the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. Along with Morten Frost , Han Jian and Luan Jin , and Prakash Padukone , he was one of the world's leading singles players of that era...
. He spent much of his international career training in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and developed close friendships with European players such as Morten Frost
Morten Frost
Morten Frost or Morten Frost Hansen, aka "Mr Badminton", is a former badminton player and later coach, who represented Denmark...
.
After his retirement in 1991, he was the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a short while. He was the coach of the Indian national badminton team in 1993 and 1996.
Personal
Prakash hails from the KonkaniKonkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
-speaking community of Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins.
He currently lives in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
with wife Ujjala and two daughters, and runs the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. He was awarded the Arjuna award
Arjuna award
The Arjuna Awards were instituted in 1961 by the government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. The award carries a cash prize of 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll....
in 1972 and the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
in 1982.
He recently had his biography released at the 2006 nationals. The book, Touchplay, is written by Dev Sukumar.
Prakash is also the father of model turned actress, Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...
and Anisha Padukone whose aim is to become a golfer.
Major achievements
| Rank | Event | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Championships | |||
| 3 | Singles | 1983 1983 IBF World Championships -Medalists:-Men's singles:-Women's singles:-Men's doubles:-Women's doubles:-Mixed doubles:-Medal table:-External links:* * * * *... |
Copenhagen, DEN |
| Commonwealth Games Badminton at the Commonwealth Games Badminton debuted at the 1966 Commonwealth Games.-Location of the Commonwealth Games:The table below gives an overview of all host cities and countries of badminton at the Commonwealth Games.-Individual competition:-Medal table:-References:... |
|||
| 1 | Singles | 1978 | Edmonton, CAN |
| World Cup Badminton World Cup The World Cup in badminton was an annual tournament organized by the International Management Group . It was held between 1981 and 1997. After the tournament ceased for seven years, Badminton World Federation decided to bring it back as invitational tournament in 2005... |
|||
| 1 | Singles | 1981 | |
| World Grand Prix | |||
| 1 | Singles | 1979 | Denmark Open |
| 1 | Singles | 1980 | All England Open All England Open Badminton Championships The All England Open Badminton Championships, or simply All England, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious badminton tournaments. Played annually, it developed after the success of world's first badminton tournament held in Guildford in 1898... |