Prakash Padukone

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All England title, 1980

National coach Puri’s recollections

Narain Swamy, ‘Prakash’s court craft foxed King in the final’, March 25, 2020: The Times of India

Not the best of facilities or infrastructure, shuttles that mirrored the wobbly state of affairs in Indian badminton then and allowances that had you count the change more often than spend. Prakash Padukone overcame all these hurdles and more to win the All England title 40 years ago.

March 23, 1980. It was the day when Padukone reigned at the Wembley stadium, defeating the formidable Liem Swie King of Indonesia, (15-3, 15-10) the undisputed world No. 1 and the top seed. King wanted the title badly for a hat-trick but was systematically dismantled by a 24-year-old Indian with a sort of game that left the world awestruck.

“King’s game was all about rhythm, pace and power. Hard smashes, deft net dribbles that shut out the opponent. But Prakash had a game plan all along. He never allowed King to play his natural game. He set the pace, pinned King to the backcourt with lobs and clears that kissed the baseline, used his cross-court half smashes and a razor-sharp net game as effective counters. King never knew what hit him,” former national coach TPS Puri, who was with Padukone during the tour, told TOI.

Padukone had won the Danish and Swedish titles ahead of the All England, leading officials of the International Badminton Federation to point out to Puri that he was burning himself out, playing too many games. A keen observer that he has always been, Puri told them that Padukone was only getting better and better with each game.

Yet the badminton world refused to believe Puri. An assortment of victories at the Danish and Swedish Opens were diametrically opposite to the way Indonesia had prepared for the All England Championships. King didn’t play the Danish and Swedish Opens. He had kept himself fresh for the All England.

Padukone and Puri stayed at London’s Indian YMCA . Wembley was far away. Their daily allowance did not permit them the luxury of a cab. Padukone and Puri took the London Underground metro to the venue.

“We used to walk around 400 metres to the Tottenham Court Road station, change two trains and walk almost a kilometre in cold weather to the venue. I tried to convince the Indian High Commission officials to provide Prakash with transport, but they had their own constraints. But Prakash made no fuss about it. He was too focused on his game,” Puri said.