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SPORTS
Eternal India
encyclopedia
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.
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).