Badminton Association of India has decided to confer Prakash Padukone with its first Lifetime Achievement Award for his rich contribution to the sport.
The award will carry a citation and a cash award of Rs 10 lakh.
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The award will carry a citation and a cash award of Rs 10 lakh.
- BAI has decided to honour one important personality who has contributed towards badminton with a lifetime achievement award every year.
About Prakash Padukone
- Prakash Padukone is a former Indian badminton player from Karnataka
- He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1972 and the Padma Shri in 1982 by the government of India. He is one of the co-founders of Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Olympic sports in India.
- Prakash Padukone's life story has been chronicled in the biography 'Touch Play', by Dev S. Sukumar. The book is only the second biography of any badminton player
- He won the Indian national junior title in 1972.
- In 1978, he won his first major international title, the men's singles gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada
- In 1980, he won the Danish Open, the Swedish Open and became the first Indian to win the men's singles title at the All England Championship with a victory over Indonesian rival Liem Swie King.
About BAI
- Badminton Association of India (BAI) is the governing body of badminton in India.
- It was formed in 1934, and has been holding national-level tournaments in India since 1936
- BAI has 28 state members that conduct badminton tournaments and have a 2x voting power compared to the 8 affiliate members, who do not conduct tournaments and have a single vote each in the association.
- It is headquartered in Lucknow, India.
- The President of BAI is Dr. Himanta Bishwa Sarma