‘The talent’s there, we need a little more commitment to break into the top five’

•It’s such a privilege to have you on walk the talk, I’ve been your fan, follower for so many decades.

Thank you so much. Great honour to be on the show.

•Again if I may have India’s first real world champion, I know there was Wilson Jones in billiards, but the game that people watched…

Thank you

•I know you are now also handling the glow of your daughter’s fame, but remind us a little about the days, late seventies, early eighties. I think the last time badminton made headlines in our sport pages.

Well I think the last time it was probably in 1980 when I won the All England. I think that was the turning point of the Indian Badminton.

•Followed by the World Cup.

Yes, followed by the World Cup in 1981. But I think it’s been a very steady growth of badminton in India. In fact 60s and 70s also we did produce some very good players. And my first victory came in 1971, an I won the senior and junior national titles in the same year at the age of 16.

•I think it’s the first time for somebody to have won the seniors and juniors at the same time.

That’s right. I think it’s still a record, the record still holds. So from then on I started playing international badminton. I first played for the country when I was 16 and I retired at 33. So, I played for India for almost 17 years. Up and down phases, but I have enjoyed

•There were great names from your time, Morten Frost, Lim Swee King, Han Jian, Rudy Hartono and if I remember correctly you were the first Indian who began playing like those foreigners, attacking game.

In fact, I tried to play a little like them, because it was a very interesting match that I played with Rudy Hartono in Bombay Gymkhana way back in 1971.

•Rudy Hartono was the Rod Laver of badminton.

I think he is the greatest badminton player the world has ever produced.

•Eight All-England titles

From Indonesia. I consider him my idol. I tried to model my game on his style. I got an opportunity to play with him when I was 15-years old, you know, of course, I lost 15-5, 15-3, because he was the current world champion at that time, but that was a real eye-opener.

•Must have been a rare occasion for you to lose 3 and 5 to anybody.

Not at that stage. But I still remember that match and it really was an eye-opener for me and I realized you know, I was playing a very defensive game and I realized that if I had to do to do well at the international level after I watched Rudy play. He was probably the person who was responsible for the current kind of game, which the current day players were playing.

•He obviously played top to down.

Yes most of the shots were down. And you know, very intelligent player, not just bang-bang type of player which the current day players play. I think a complete player. There were hardly any weaknesses in his game. His defence, his offence, his net, his match temperament.

•Before that Indian badminton players were either returning to sheens or drop artists, touch artists.

Ye, I had tried to retain that, and add a bit of the Indonesian or the Chinese kind of style into my game. I didn’t completely change and start playing like the Chinese.

•So that encounter with Rudy Hartono at the age of 15, that sort of opened your eyes to new kind of badminton.

Yes, the physical fitness that was required. My game was very defensive at that time. It was more of toss and drop kind of game. I watched him play the half-smash, which later on became one of my strongest points.

•How does the half-smash work?

A half-smash comes down quickly. It’s not a full-blooded smash, it gives the opening to play the half-smash. It’s played with a lot of wrist and deception to catch the opponent on the wrong foot. You know, they will be expecting different stroke. It comes down suddenly.

•And you played really late. You waited for the opponent to make a move…

So that was one of my strengths also. I used the wrist a lot. Which was again one of the inherent strengths of the Indians. So deception automatically became one of my strong points. Then I added all the strengths which were required to the extent possible. Speed, power, stamina. I retained my game at the same level and introduced all these skills and developed a style of my own which I think, paid me very rich dividends in the long run.

•You had a great span of five or six years..

Longer than that. In fact I won my first commonwealth gold when I was 23 and I was in the top ten for almost eight years.

•And you won almost the grand slam of badminton at that time…

Yes, that was in 1980, when I won the Danish, Swedish and the All-England—three tournaments on the trot.

•Tell us some of your other rivals at that point, Morten Frost who I believe remains a friend, even now

Yes Morten Frost, Lin Swee King, Sugiarto, Han Jian. I think the difference between players of our time and now, you know, each one of us had a distinct style of our own. Some of the players from the Indonesian team itself or from the Chinese team had different styles. So when we played against each other, it was one style playing another, trying to outweigh the other. So from the spectators’ point of view, there were a lot of interesting stuff happening. These days you feel that if you’ve seen one player, you have seen almost everybody because everybody plays almost similar kind of game.

•This is McDonaldisation of the game.

Yes, you can say that. Probably, not just to restricted to badminton, I think it’s happening in other sports also.

•Is it because of overcoaching?

One of the reasons I think. The economies have opened up. So, Chinese coaches, Indonesian coaches have gone all over the world and when they start training, obviously the training methods become the same. Earlier that was not the case. Everybody had their own national coaches with different styles. I don’t know what is good or what is bad. But I still feel that if there’s a variety…

•Maybe the power and the speed do not allow so much originality now..

Power and speed has to be there, and along with power and speed you can have your own strength. Each individual player, each individual country have their own strength. I personally feel that they should make use of that along with power…

•Since badminton was not on tele for a long time, I believe some of your great matches aren’t recorded. Isn’t it?

Yes, including my 1980 All England victory. I have not seen myself. I have tried to get the tape from wherever possible. I have written to all the associations. They haven’t found it yet.

•What a loss?

I think the only thing we have is an amateurish tape which the Indian embassy had arranged in which only one side can be seen.

•It’s a bit tragic.

I’m still trying. Let’s see if I can get it.

•Since those great players and matches were not on screen, tell us how they were different. Lin Swee K, Han Jian, Morten Frost and you.

Lin Swee K was very attacking player like the current day he was at his very best. Very attacking, fast, very fit, attacking, but compared to Rudy I think his temperament wasn’t that good. If somebody put pressure on him he would wield under the pressure or he will give a big lead. You can see the difference in his face. But that wasn’t the case with Rudy. From his face you can never make out. I would compare him with Bjorn Borg, or the current Roger Federer in Tennis…

•Why?

From their faces you can never make out whether they are winning or losing. They are always calm, whether it’s love-all in the first set, winning a match point or down match point. But Lin Swee King was not like that. Another great player Morten also, Morten Frost himself a very talented player, very focused and I think probably he’s the next best badminton player. He reached eight all England finals. We had some great rivalry. In fact he started after moved to Denmark in 1980, after I won the All England. He was a player who was just coming up at that time. We sparred a lot together. We had the same wavelength, similar kind of focus, so we played at least five times a week.

•And you still remain friends?

We still remain in touch. He started his own academy in Denmark now. I’m running this academy here.

•You know this what they always called the Prakash ability, calling everybody probably the greatest, probably the second greatest and you keep yourself out of it.

Compared to the people I mentioned, you know like Rudy has won the All England eight times, Frost has reached the final eight times, won four and I have reached the finals only twice.

•But you have also carried with you a great degree of difficulty..

No that is there, that is there. So, maybe compared to the Indians, and the facilities which were available, I think I have done well. But I don’t consider myself world’s great. Maybe considering the facilities, I have done my best.

•You started playing in Bangalore, which had no tradition of badminton. In fact badminton wasn’t even known as badminton.

It was ball badminton which was popular in the sixties. I started when I was 7 and there were hardly three or four courts in Bangalore at that time. In fact in the whole of south, it was not known at all.

•In fact even now it’s called shuttle badminton.

Yes in some states it’s still called but it’s more or less because ball badminton has gone out of contention. But in those days, west, north and east, badminton was popular in that part. But I think the game grew in the south after my 1980 victory in the All England. Now it’s being dominated. Maybe there are a lot more facilities there, the players are more focused.

•The game isn’t producing money in comparison to other games..

No, not yet if you compare it with tennis or golf or cricket the money is still…there’s an increase but not much.

•In fact if one sees how much prize money used to be in your time, and just for inflation it hasn’t gone up at all.

Not much. When we were playing, the highest prize money was about $15,000 for men’s singles winner.

•And now it’s $25,000.

It’s a very interesting game and I sometimes feel sad that the game hasn’t been marketed well at the international level, not at the national level. Internationally, I’m sure it has all the qualities which are required—it’s a short game, fast game, spectator-friendly game.

•Weather-proof

Yes, weather-proof..If we only had professionals marketing the game, we could have done much better.

•You have done your bit by setting up this academy, raising the money and producing so many promising youngsters…

I tried to do. Basically, when I retired from the game in 1989, at the age of 33. After that I was contemplating doing something for the sport. Then I started this academy with the help of BPL. My only this thing was I went through a lot of hardship, lot of difficulties. So what I try do in the academy—We select the best players and ensure that the difficulties that I faced during my younger days, they don’t face the same difficulties.

•One of the great hardships you went through was to shift to a very cold country like Denmark to train. Isn’t it?

Yes, also. It was a big change

•There was a big speculation whether Prakash will start eating meat or not?

Yes one of the speculations. And also at that time whether I would play in the 1982 Asian games. I turned professional in December 1980. That again was a real good experience for me. To be a professional. My shifting to Denmark really helped me to stay on the top for a much longer period.

•It also gave you much better fitness?

Fitness and you know better sparring partners. Because you know after you reach a certain stage…

•You and Vijay were the fittest Indian sportsmen for a long time.

Yes…in the 80s. Both of us…

•You were the first Indian sportsmen who were athletes.

Probably, in some of these physically demanding games. I still feel that players who reach a certain level, it’s best for them, if they want to pursue professionally. We have a lot of hardship to stay back in India, because of our bureaucracy, because of the way the federations are run. So I would strongly recommend whether it’s shooters, boxers or archers, they should go overseas after they have reached a certain stage. And you can see that. Anand, when they shift they can really focus. You can’t have the slightest distractions when you reach that level. When you reach the world no.5 or 6 and you want to become the world no. 1 you can’t have the slightest distraction. Your only job shall be…

•That’s true for the Tennis players also, from Vijay to Ramesh to Leander…when they have gone overseas they have looked better. In that case do you think, Sania would have done better had she had moved overseas for training

Probably, the funds part they will have to work out…

•And left biryani as well

That depends on each individual player. But I think it does help in any sport. One of the reasons our athletes are not moving out because of the funds part. If that can be taken care of whether it’s shooting or archery. When they reach a certain stage if they are based outside the country for a longer period in the country where that sport is doing well, the better chances of them becoming the top players in the world.

•Prakash: Take us back to your played matches. Tell us about your first memorable match, quality of the game.

Well, as a junior, as a 16-year old, my first national victory when I won the junior and senior. I think that would rank very high because it was a very close match and no one was expecting me to win. I won the junior and the senior on the same day in Chennai. But as a senior my victory in the All-England against Lin Swee King. That would rank very high. One of my best performances in the three tournaments which I have won.

•You remember a moment from the game when you thought it can go either way.

No not really. In fact, I was totally in command. In fact I won 15-3, 15-10. But it was one of the….

•But when you beat Han Jian, you beat him 15-0, I think.

Yes in the World Cup final, 15-0, 18-16. Probably one of the only times Han Jian has lost in a love game.

•Probably the only time an Indian player beat someone like that because we Indians tend to give the next few points anyway.

Just one of those things which happened. It was not intended, but I got everything going that day. I was in great form.

•Indian sportsmen acquired this nice-guy image. Nice guy, good loser, sporting loser. And both you and Vijay are responsible for that in the 70s and the 80s.

Not really. General feeling is that if you don’t show your emotions, on the court or on the field, people tend to think that you are not aggressive. But I disagree with that. People like Bjorn Borg and Federer, they don’t show any emotions. But still they have that fighting qualities and the killer instinct. So I think me and Vijay probably fall in that category. We have tried to do our best.

•Applauding the opponent’s shot…

It doesn’t mean…

•Bishen Bedi got hit for a cover drive applauding the batsman. Doesn’t happen these days anymore. These days you glare.

In those days it was very common. In the 80s and 90s it was common to applaud a good performance. But I don’t think it means any…I don’t know I could be wrong. The present generation is different. They don’t do it.

•How do you look at the present generation? We have some good talent now? Three in the top 50 in men…

And about six in the top hundred. We have a lot of talent.

•Sania Nehwal in the top 15 now.

She is the most promising girl. She will be our brightest prospect, not only for this Olymics but also for the coming years…She is only 18, she is already in the top 15. She has all the qualities required to be the world no. 1. I hope she remains like this. She has got the talent, she has got the commitment, focus. More than anything else, she has got the temperament and the self-belief that she can do it. And physically she’s strong. So all the qualities…If she continues like this…

•Among the men?

Among the men, I think Chetan was very promising, he still continues to do well. But he could have been a little better player, he could have had better performances. From the rest. Anup Sridhar is …

•from your academy..

Yes, he’s from my academy. He’s been with us since when he was 11-years old. He’s been with us for almost14 years now.

•Whatever happens, how your eyes light up when you talk of your own wards…

Naturally, it’s a great pleasure. You see them grow. He literally started from scratch. He was only 11 when he was with us. He’s got fairly a bright prospect. Couple of other junior players are also there. Ajay Jayaram, Kasyap…

•Do you see a badminton revival of sorts.

No talent is there. I would like a little more commitment from the players as well. A lot more facilities are there, infrastructure is good, the government is doing its bit…

•And they are all mix of the modern game now. Isn’t it?

Yes, most of them have the right mix. I don’t think it has anything to do with the technique, it’s more the physical fitness part. The speed, the stamina, they have to last out at a different pace.]

•They don’t look that different. For example when you and Syed Modi played, two of you were completely different players.

Yes, different styles. These days our players might be little different from the Indonesians and the Chinese, but most of the Indians play a similar kind of game. Quite attacking, physically also they are strong, well built. But if they show a little more of commitment. I’m not saying that they are not committed. But the commitment which is required to be in the top five.

•They have to move a few more notches up..

Definitely..

•Some of them are capable of being in the top five.

Yes they are. Provided they are… their focus, their commitment levels have to be much higher, their hunger for winning. They have the game, they have the talent. But I think they need to put a lot more effort to reach that level.

•Prakash you talked about your wards that brought such a glow to your face, tell us about your daughter. I noticed the ring tone on your phone is a song from Om Shanti Om.

Waiting for her second release. Two daughters—Deepika is the older one, Aneesha is the younger one.

•Who’s playing golf, I believe, very seriously, I think the younger one..

Yes, She just been on the circuit. On the ladies circuit for the last one year. Deepika also was a state level badminton player. But after she finished her 10th standard, she moved into modeling. That was her first love. She always wanted to be a model. She had done some ads when she was young and from there she got some offers to get into films. It’s been a big change for us as well. For her of course…

•It’s a challenge to handle a double stardom, a child stardom but not in your own field. In your own field is different…

It’s in an entirely different field which we had not expected. Luckily she is doing quite well at the moment. She has got some good breaks. People say that she has the talent, but I can’t comment on…If it was badminton I would have said what level she would have reached. But being in a totally different field…

•How does it feel? Do you sometimes feel like Deepika Padukone’s father?

Of course. They are not sports people, they tend to recognize me as…

•All people from our generation..

Yes very rightly. The youngsters, they know me more as Deepika’s father. But absolutely no regrets. It’s a great feeling when children do better than what you are. May not be in terms of achievement. Achievement wise she hasn’t done anything, but visibility wise and popularity wise..

•I think if you had chosen to go for films instead, you would have done equally well.

No, I think looks are not the only thing.

•In the best of times they have those T-shirts that say ‘If you think I’m cute, you haven’t seen my mom’ I think she should wear T-shirts that says ‘If you think I’m good looking, you haven’t seen my parents’.

My first love always been sports and I think it will continue to be sports.

•Keep it that way. Such a privilege to be with you. I can’t tell you how you inspired a whole generation of people in your age group.

Thank you so much. It’s a pleasure.