The journey which I began has most likely ended right here: Badminton legend Prakash Padukone on Thomas Cup win

Indian badminton legends Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand are of the opinion that Indian badminton wouldn’t look again after the Thomas Cup victory. Comparing it to the 1983 World Cup triumph underneath Kapil Dev, Gopichand mentioned that this staff victory is essential for Indian badminton and it goes on to indicate the recognition of the game within the nation.

An emotional Prakash Padukone, whereas talking solely to India Today, mentioned that the journey that he had began by successful the All England trophy had culminated on the Thomas Cup.

“The journey which I started has probably ended here,I don’t want it to end here, but it has culminated into this victory. I think 1980 was, of course, an individual achievement but in terms of team sport, it couldn’t have gone bigger than this,” Padukone mentioned.

“We’ve always had individual players. You know right from the 60’s, just one player doing well at a time and then it was two players. Sometime later it was maybe three singles players, or four, five good singles players, but weak in doubles. So I think it’s been a gradual process. Again, I would like to emphasise that there is a lot of talent,” he additional added.

Both gamers talked about how India has had a fast rise within the badminton tradition and the way that may influence the top outcome. Padukone argued that this sort of curiosity was not current even a couple of years earlier than and it reveals how quickly badminton is taking up in India. He welcomed the change and mentioned that it’s the onus of the badminton affiliation of the courtroom to market the sport accurately and make this a sport that’s adopted and performed by the vast majority of the nation.

“Earlier we used to conduct the U-13,15,17 and U-19 tournaments together, but if we do that now, the combined total would be over 10,000 combined. We cannot do that anymore. It goes to show the popularity of the sport,” Padukone mentioned.

“If the numbers are more at the bottom of the pyramid, the competition is bound to be better, and better results at the top. We are at the right track and there won’t be any looking back,” Padukone concluded.