Prakash Padukone is an former Indian badminton player, who represented India internationally from 1962 to 1991. He is one of the most successful badminton players of India in the history of the sport.

Padukone has topped the world ranking list in the 1980s and was the first All England Open Badminton Championship titleholder Indian player. His father, Ramesh Padukone was the secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association and thus he got a perfect background to be a professional badminton player from the very beginning.

Padukone has a keen interest in this sport since his childhood and started playing badminton as a toddler. He won the State Junior Championship in 1962 and made his way smoother to enter the international filed in the same following year.

He used to play in an aggressive style, which ensured his win more effortlessly at the international level. Prakash Padukone Indian senior national title for the badminton championship in 1972 kept making his international wins secured more swiftly day after day. In 19778, he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and topped the world’s list then deservingly.

World Grand Prix and World Cup are two major championships where Padukone clinched gold medals during this period. During 1980 to 1985, Padukone bagged almost 15 major titles with his international appearance. After his retirement in 1991, he worked as the Chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a few whiles. He is one of the co-founders of Olympics Gold Coast and currently runs his own badminton academy PPBA successfully since 1994.

(as Compiled by Madhushree Das Ghosh)

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