Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

SPORTS

The seeds for the Asian Badminton Federation were sown on 30th July, 1959 with representatives of the Asian badminton asso- ciations meeting in Kuala Lumpur at the behest of the Badminton Association of Malaysia. The first Asian Badminton Champion- ships were held in Kuala Lumpur from 21st April to 7th May, 1962. And the first biennial general meeting of the Asian Badminton Confederation held on 1st November, 1965 at Lucknow. In India, Punjab led the way with the inauguration of the first state championship in 1929 and these tournaments included three- a-side events till 1936. The game took a big step forward with the formation of the Badminton Association of India on 22nd September 1934 with Mr. Sarat Kumar Mitra as the first president. The asso- ciation was affiliated to the International Badminton Federation in July 1935. The first national championship for men was started in an out- door court in Calcutta during 1934/35 and the players were mostly from Bengal. The championship attained more of an all-India status during 1935/36 when the women’s category was also included. The mixed doubles was introduced the following year and the junior (boys and girls) category during the 1960/61 season. The inter- state championship for the Rahimtoola Cup was introduced in 1944. This has now been bifurcated into three categories, viz., the Rahimtoola Cup exclusively for men, the Chadha Cup for women and the Narang Cup for juniors. The National championships be- came an indoor affair from the sixth year of its inception when they were held in the indoor courts at Lahore. India entered the interna- tional sphere from the very years of the inception of the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup championships. India’s golden moments in badminton, however, were during the peak playing years of Prakash Padukone of Karnataka, who rose to become a badminton star of the highest international repute. Among Prakash Padukone’s greatest triumphs are the world cham- pionship title in September 1979 defeating Morten Frost of Den- mark 15-4, 15-11 and the All England title in March 1980 beating Lim Swie King 15-3, 15-10. Prakash Padukone also won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in 1978. This feat was emu- lated by Syed Modi in 1982. Another bright hopeful of Indian badminton, Syed Modi (who was expected to follow in the foot- steps of Prakash Padukone) was cruelly cut off in the prime of his life, falling prey to an assassin’s gun when he was returning after a practice session. Prior to the Padukone era, India was considered a force to reckon with in the international scene, especially during the early formative years of the game internationally following the formation of the International Badminton Federation. But, at present, the Indians are lagging far behind even compared to such Asian nations as Malaysia or Indonesia. The normally 26 inches long badminton raquet has a slightly oval head netted with light thin strings popularly known as guts. The shuttlecock used in tournament play is generally made of goose feathers in a cork base, whereas in recreational play the feathers comprise a synthetic material. Arjuna Awards: Nandu M. Natekar, Meena Shah, Dinesh Khanna, Suresh Goel, Dipu Ghosh, Damayanthi Tambay, Shoba Murthy, Prakash Padukone, Raman Ghosh, Davinder Ahuja, Ami Ghia, Kanwal Thakur Singh, Syed Modi, Partho Ganguli and Madhumita Bisht ( nee Goswami).

Hammer Throw Praveen Kumar

65.77 m

1969

Decathlon

V.S. Chauhan

7380 pts.

1978

20 km walk

Bachan Singh

1 h:25 m:48 S

1990

50 km walk

C.S. Rathi

4h: 19 m:48 s

1990

Marathon

Kisahn Singh

2h: 11m:49 s

1970

Women

100 m

P.T. Usha

11.39 sec

1985

200 m

P.T. Usha

51.61 sec

1989

400 m

P.T. Usha

51.61 sec

1985

800 m

Shiny Wilson

121.90 sec

1992

1,500 m

Geeta Zutshi

499.33 sec

1982

3,000 m

Suman Rawat

55.70 sec

1986

10,000 m

P. Tanuja

2073.93 sec

1991

100 hurdles

M.D. Valasamma

13.9 sec

1985

400 hurdles

P.T. Usha

55.42 sec

1984

High jump

Angela Lincy

1.77 m

1993

Long jump

Reeth Abraham

6.28 m

1991

Shot Put

B. Khambatta

14.58 m

1982

Discus

V. M. Bhanot

42.92 m

1987

Javelin

Shiny Abhram

51.88 m

1988

Heptathlon

Angel Mary Joesph 5244 pts.

1982

10 km walk

Kavitha Garori

50 m: 30.9 s

1989

Marathon

Asha Agarwal 2 h:40 m:26 sec

1991

BADMINTON

Though the present form of badminton is believed to have evolved at the seat of the Duke of Beaufort at Badminton in Gloucester- shire, there is reference to a similar sport in 12th century England. A portrait of the young prince Sulkowski by Adam Mayoki, who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, shows the prince holding a raquet and a shuttlecock in

a service stance. However, credit for the modern version goes to British officers in India, who took to the game of ‘poonai’ , perhaps the game of ball badminton, which was popular especially among the erstwhile kings of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The ancient children’s games of battledore and shuttlecock are also considered as a precursors to this game. In 1893, representatives of 14 different clubs of England met at Southsea, Hampshire and founded the Badminton Association of England. They codified the laws more clearly and started their own tournament, which was soon known as the All-England Champion- ship. Thanks, largely, to the efforts of Sir George Thomas, the International Badminton Federation was formed in 1934 and housed in Kent, England. The game was introduced in the USA in 1878 and there is reference to a match between Ireland and England in 1902. Organ- ised international competition, however, began in 1948/49 with the inauguration of the Thomas Cup for men on 11th December, 1948. The Uber Cup competition for women began in 1956/57.