Prakash Padukone

Prakash Padukone (born 10 June 1955) is an Indian former badminton player. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1980; the same year he became the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships. 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.

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

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