Padukone hails India’s badminton overall upsurge

Prakash Padukone

BADMINTON legend Prakash Padukone, who turned 68 on June 10, believes the sport is on the right track as India shuttlers are doing well across all categories.

Padukone said the sport has seen positive change in the recent past.

"I think what has changed over the past couple of years is that we are doing well. Earlier, it was only singles, but now we are doing good in doubles too. We are on the right track, but we need to try and be more consistent as far as the performances are concerned. We have some very talented players and Lakshya Sen is surely one of them. Then there is Kiran George, Mithun Manjunath and Priyanshu Rajawat who have done well for themselves. In the women's it is Ashmita Chaliha, among others, but there is still scope of improvement there," remarked Padukone, who was in the city last week as a chief guest of the Suhas Nadkarni Memorial Yonex Sunrise Maharashtra State Open Badminton Tournament at the MIG Cricket Club.

Talking about senior players like K Srikanth and PV Sindhu, he said: "I think they have been on the top. But next year will be important as there is qualification for the Olympics. They really need to work hard. We have a good chance of doing well in Paris 2024. My advice...like I have been saying for the last 10 years, one needs to choose tournaments wisely and remain injury-free if they want to succeed," he signed off.

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