Prakash Padukone

He is married to Ujjala Padukone and has two daughters: Deepika, a popular Bollywood actress, and Anisha, a golfer.

Prakash Padukone was born on 10 June 1955, in Padukone village near Kundapura, Udupi district, Karnataka, India, to Ramesh Padukone and Ahilya Padukone. His father was the Secretary of the Mysore Badminton Association for many years.

His father introduced Prakash to the game when he was quite young and the boy immediately developed an interest in the game. His first official tournament was the Karnataka state junior championship in 1962 which he lost in the very first round.

Prakash Padukone won the state junior title in 1964, and from then on, his career progressed at a fast pace. His playing style evolved over the years and he went on to win the national senior championship in 1971. As a 16 year old he became the youngest player to achieve this feat.

Over the ensuing years he won each successive national championship until 1979, setting a record of nine national titles in a row.

Already a player of national fame by the late 1970s, he achieved his first major international title in 1978 when he won the men's singles gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

He established himself as one of the most competitive international badminton players and completely dominated the top European players in 1980 to win both the Danish Open and the Swedish Open.

His biggest career achievement also happened in 1980. He won the men's singles title at the All England Championship with a victory over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King, becoming the first Indian to do so. This win catapulted Padukone to the No. 1 world badminton ranking, making him the first Indian to achieve that status.

He was awarded the Arjuna award for his sporting achievements in 1972.

In 1982 he was honored with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for his contributions to sports.