India’s first badminton superstar and the man who put India on the global map of badminton, Prakash Padukone celebrates his 65th birthday on June 10, 2020 (Wednesday). Born on this day in 1955, Padukone became the national champion at the tender age of 15 and went to win it for seven successive years. He wasn’t only successful in the national circuit and won many laurels on the international stage, the biggest of them being the All England Open Championship win over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King in 1980. Tokyo Olympics: Badminton Federation Extends Qualification Period, Rescheduled Tournaments to Be Held in 2021.

Padukone was the first-ever Indian to win the All England Open title and that also made him the World No 1 in men’s singles, another first for an Indian shuttler. He came close to winning a second title at the England Open a year later but lost in the final to Liem. Padukone also won the Denmark Open Superseries in 1979 and followed it with a gold medal at the 1981 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

He was also part of the Indian team that won bronze medals at the Asian Games in 1974 and 1986. But long before his England conquest and World Cup medal, Padukone scripted history when he became the first Indian to win a gold medal in singles at the Commonwealth Games. At the 1978 Games in Canada, Padukone beat England’s Derek Talbot in straight sets to win India’s first badminton gold at the Inter-continental event. Syed Modi (1982), Saina Nehwal (2010, 2018), Parupalli Kashyap (2014) and the women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa (2010) have since won gold at the event.

At 28, Padukone also finished third at the 1983 Badminton World Championship and once again became the first Indian to win a medal at the event. He claimed bronze after a semi-final defeat. He was considered among the top four men’s singles players in the late 1970s and through mid-1980s along with Morten Frost (Denmark), Han Jian Liem Swie King (Indonesia) and Luan Jin (China). In his twilight years, Padukone partnered Liem in men’s doubles at the 1988 US Open and clinched a silver medal after a three-set thriller. As he celebrates his 65th birthday, take a look at some quick facts about Prakash Padukone.

  • Prakash Padukone was born in the Padukone village in Udupi, Karnataka on June 10, 1955

  • He was introduced to Badminton by Father Ramesh Padukone, former secretary of Mysore Badminton Association

  • Padukone holds the incredible record of winning the national Badminton championship for seven successive years

  • Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championship (1980)

  • His victory over Liem Swie King also made Prakash Padukone the first Indian World No 1 Badminton Player

  • Padukone also won a gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games making him the first Indian to clinch a medal at the event

  • Prakash Padukone’s eldest daughter Deepika is a famous actress while younger daughter Anisha is a golf player

  • He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1872 and the Padma Shri in 1982

Post-retirement, Padukone launched his own badminton academy in 1994 to coach and mentor young aspirants and make a successful badminton career for them. He is also a co-founder of the Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation dedicated to promote Olympic sports and help athletes from India win Olympic medals. Many Olympic medallists from Mary Kom to Sushil Kumar have been part of this foundation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).