Prakash Padukone: The Badminton Association of India should learn from BCCI

    In 2017, ahead of the All England Open Badminton Championships, Prakash Padukone, the first-ever Indian to win the title, expressed his opinion on the current status of the sport in India.

    Prakash Padukon expressed his opinion on the current status of the sport Prakash Padukon expressed his opinion on the current status of the sport

    The legend said that, unlike the times in which he played, the popularity and condition of the sport in India have improved manifolds. 

    He added that while earlier it was only cricket that was popular in India, now Badminton and other sports are also gaining recognition in the country.

    Prakash Padukone said he was happy to know that the present generation has a lot of opportunities as opposed to his times when both the opportunities and the resources were limited. He said, "There was a time when only cricketers used to excel, but now the situation has changed." 

    While praising the current badminton players in India, Padukone emphasized the importance of 3 Ds in the game: discipline, dedication, and determination and said, “To become an outstanding sportsperson, one has to make a lot of sacrifices.

    It is very difficult to maintain a balance between games and academics, therefore the players have to become an expert in time management also.”

    Follow BCCI, do no demonise  

    While Padukone was happy with the performance of the players, he didn't seem too happy with the performance of various sports federations in the country. He said instead of criticizing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), various sports federations, including the Badminton Association of India, should follow in the footsteps of the BCCI.

    He added that the BCCI has done a great job making the sport popular in India and similar techniques are also required by other federations to make their sports popular too.

    "Instead of criticizing the BCCI, the sports federation should follow them to spread their game," said Padukone while speaking at the SJAN-Raisoni Achievers annual award function, organized by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur and the Raisoni Group.

    Padukone’s words in 2017 still hold. In the last few years, other games like Kabaddi, Hockey and Football have started gaining popularity in India, while Badminton has more or less been in the same place.

    There is no denying that cricket is still the most-watched game in India but unlike other games like Kabaddi, Hockey and Football, Badminton is still way behind cricket in terms of popularity.

     

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