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For a long time Prakash Padukone' s name has been synonymous with the game of badminton in India. Born on June 10, 1955, the unassuming Prakash was head and shoulders above his peers in terms of achievements at the international stage.
Prakash learnt the tricks of the trade from his father Ramesh Padukone who was the Secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association for many years. In 1971, Prakash decided to trade his defensive game for an aggressive one and the decision paid rich dividends when he won both the juniors' and the seniors' titles that year at the tender age of 16. He won the Indian national title consecutively for the next eight years, until 1979.
In 1979, Padukon achieved his first international success when he won the gold at the Commonwealth Games. He rapidly gained in stature and beat some of the top European shuttlers to win the Danish Open and the Swedish Open. Prakash's golden run culminated with his victory in the prestigious All England Badminton Championship where he got the better of reigning champion Liem Swie King.
Post-retirement, Prakash was the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a short while and later coached of the Indian national badminton team in 1993 and 1996.
