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Last edited January 12, 2026


Prakash Padukone
Personal information
Birth namePrakash Padukone
CountryIndia
Born (1955-06-10) 10 June 1955 (age 71)
Bengaluru, Mysore State (present-day Karnataka), India
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
HandednessRight
Men's singles
Highest ranking1[1] (1980)
Medal record
HonoursArjuna award (1972)
Padma Shri (1982)
2=

Prakash Padukone (born 10 June 1955) is an Indian former badminton player. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1980 and the same year he became the first Indian to win the All England Open. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982 by the Government of India.[2] He is one of the co-founders of Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Olympic sports in India.

Early life[edit | edit source]

Padukone was born on 10 June 1955[3] in Bangalore in Karnataka. His father, Ramesh, was a secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association.[4]

Career[edit | edit source]

Prakash was initiated into the game by his father Ramesh Padukone, who was the Secretary of Mysore Badminton Association for many years.

Padukone's first official tournament was the Karnataka state junior championship in 1962, which he lost in the very first round. However, two years later he managed to win the state junior title. He changed his playing style to a more aggressive one in 1971, and won the Indian national junior title in 1972. He also won the senior title the same year. He won the national title consecutively for the next seven years. In 1978, he won his first major international title, the men's singles gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.[5] 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 men's singles title at the All England Championship with a victory over Indonesia's Liem Swie King, who was one of the world's leading singles players of his era. Padukone spent much of his international career training in Denmark, and developed close friendships with European players such as Morten Frost.[6]

Other services[edit | edit source]

After his retirement from competitive sports in 1991, Padukone served as the chairman of the Badminton Association of India for a short while. He also served as the coach of the Indian national badminton team from 1993 to 1996. He co-founded Olympic Gold Quest with Geet Sethi, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Olympic sports in India.[7]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Prakash Padukone with family

Padukone married Ujjala.[8] They have two daughters, Deepika and Anisha.[9][10]

Achievements[edit | edit source]

World Championships[edit | edit source]

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1983 Brøndbyhallen, Copenhagen, Denmark Error creating thumbnail: File missing Icuk Sugiarto 15–9, 7–15, 1–15 Bronze Bronze

World Cup[edit | edit source]

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1980 Kyoto, Japan Error creating thumbnail: File missing Liem Swie King 12–15, 6–15 Bronze Bronze
1981 Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Error creating thumbnail: File missing Han Jian 15–0, 18–16 Gold Gold

World Games[edit | edit source]

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1981 San Jose Civic Auditorium, California, United States Error creating thumbnail: File missing Chen Changjie 14–18, 16–18 Bronze Bronze

Asian Championships[edit | edit source]

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1976 Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad,
India
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Liem Swie King 8–15, 3–15 Bronze Bronze

Commonwealth Games[edit | edit source]

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
1978 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada England Derek Talbot 15–9, 15–8 Gold Gold

International tournaments[edit | edit source]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
1979 India Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Dhany Sartika 15–10, 11–15, 12–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1979 English Masters Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 15–4, 15–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1980 Copenhagen Cup Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 8-15, 15-10, 9-15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1980 Denmark Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 15–7, 18–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1980 All England Error creating thumbnail: File missing Liem Swie King 15–3, 15–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1980 Swedish Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Rudy Hartono 9–15, 15–12, 15–1 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1981 Denmark Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 7–15, 5–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1981 All England Error creating thumbnail: File missing Liem Swie King 15–11, 4–15, 6–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1981 English Masters Error creating thumbnail: File missing Luan Jin 9–15, 8–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1981 India Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Han Jian 9–15, 15–5, 15–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1981 Scandinavian Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 4–15, 11–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1982 Dutch Open England Ray Stevens 5–15, 15–2, 15–2 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
1982 Denmark Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 7–15, 8–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1982 Scandinavian Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 3–15, 4–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1983 Chinese Taipei Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Icuk Sugiarto 10–15, 8–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1983 Japan Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Han Jian 15–6, 8–15, 9–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1983 Dutch Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 11–15, 4–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1983 Scandinavian Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 17–18, 2–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1983 India Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Morten Frost 7–15, 13–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1984 Thailand Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Icuk Sugiarto 15–13, 5–15, 4–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1985 Chinese Taipei Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lius Pongoh 15–5, 9–15, 10–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
1981 Japan Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Flemming Delfs Error creating thumbnail: File missing Christian Hadinata
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lius Pongoh
4–15, 5–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up
1988 U.S. Open Error creating thumbnail: File missing Liem Swie King Error creating thumbnail: File missing Christian Hadinata
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lius Pongoh
15–7, 11–15, 13–15 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Runner-up

Invitational tournaments[edit | edit source]

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
1978 Asian Invitational Championships Capital Indoor Stadium
Peking, China
India Syed Modi Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lin Shiquan
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Tang Xianhu
3–15, 5–15 Silver Silver

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Prakash Padukone Profile". iloveindia. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  2. "Sportstar Aces Awards: Badminton legend Prakash Padukone wins Lifetime Achievement Award". 14 February 2019.
  3. "Prakash Padukone Profile - Indian Badminton Player Prakash Padukone Biography - Information on Prakash Padukon". Archived from the original on 29 July 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  4. "An exciting tournament". The Hindu. 5 January 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  5. "Shuttlers aim for gold in the upcoming Commonwealth Games, writes M. S. Unnikrishnan". The Tribune. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  6. "PROFILE – Morten Frost". Badzine.net. 5 January 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  7. "History | OGQ". Archived from the original on 31 July 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  8. "I don't have an issue marrying an actor: Deepika Padukone". The Times of India. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  9. "She's the model of success". The Star. South Africa. 4 August 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2013 – via Highbeam.
  10. Kaura, Neha (11 June 2012). "Deepika's link-ups don't bother us, says sister". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2013.

External links[edit | edit source]

Template:Footer World Cup Champions Badminton Singles Men Template:Footer All England Open Championships Badminton Singles Men