India has never been short on turning out world-class athletes who have given their best on the world stage. Of course, Sachin Tendulkar is taken as the pinnacle of cricketing excellence, and Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra secured gold medals for India at the Olympics, thereby setting a great benchmark for sporting achievement.
Notably, right after Neeraj Chopra became the only Indian to win two Olympic medals with a silver in Paris Olympics 2024, discussions took off about his place among India’s greatest sportspersons. In this kind of reverential company, the former cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar has cited Prakash Padukone as India’s greatest sportsperson, among MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and Dhyan Chand.
Padukone was a legend of the game who made history by becoming world number one in 1980 and was the first Indian to capture the prestigious All-England Open Badminton Championships the same year. His contributions to the sport were further recognized with the Arjuna Award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982. Sunil Gavaskar has written in his Sportstar column how much he admired Padukone not only for his skill but more for the way he carried himself on and off the court.
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“In my humble opinion, and with the greatest respect to all other legends and champions from other sports, Prakash Padukone is the finest sportsperson that India has produced.”. Not only was he conquered—time and again—the badminton world with his incredible skill, but also the manner in which he carried himself both on and off the court makes him so special in my eyes,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.
Sunil Gavaskar also pointed to the times in which Padukone was competing, underlining what he was up against. “Don’t forget he did it at a time when a point could be won only on your serve, unlike today’s rules where points can be won on the opponent’s serve. At a time when the Danes and Chinese were considered unbeatable, Prakash was sending them packing, often barely conceding seven to ten points and sometimes none at all,” he noted.
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Though the list of his accomplishments includes a world ranking and championship titles, Padukone’s other honours include a bronze medal won during the 1983 World Championships, the gold medal at the 1981 World Cup, and a gold he secured in the 1978 Commonwealth Games. At the age of 69, Padukone still seems to make a presence in the sport as he becomes a coach and, in the process, contribute to Indian Badminton with a great deal before heading into the preparations for Paris Olympics 2024.
