A look back at Indian shuttlers' performance at the All England; Prakash to be the guest of honour this year

PRAKASH PADUKONE was the first Indian shuttler to get his hands on the All England title in 1980. It was complete dominance by him till the end. He defeated two shuttlers who were seeded above him on his way to clinch the title.

In the semis, he ousted Dane Frost Hansen and in the finals he toppled Swiss Liem Swie King. Reminiscing his final match against Liem, Prakash said to TOI,

"There was absolutely no pressure when I played the final as he was the defending champion for the past two years. I had never beaten him before. Hence all the pressure was on him. I played freely and confidently and was able to win the final in straight games."

There was another men's singles shuttler Sanat Misra but he couldn't go beyond the first round.

This truly changed how India was looked at in terms of badminton, thanks to Prakash. He stated this in the same interview to TOI,

"My 1980 victory would undoubtedly go down as a historical event in Indian badminton. I was delighted that I was able to win this prestigious event despite many odds. More than my personal triumph, I was happy that Indian badminton got the recognition as a major world leader in the sport."

 He missed out on clinching the title second time in the following year in 1981 as he ended as runners-up losing to the same opponent from Switzerland.

Prakash will be the guest of honour and is set to participate at the hospitality event on 11th and 12th March. And the former champion shuttler is ecstatic about the same,

"I am going to the All England Open after almost 25 years... I have never played at this venue in Birmingham and have seen it only once in 2003 when I went to cover the World Championships for a newspaper."

After Prakash's success in England it was a long wait for an another Indian to get his name printed on the title. In 2001, current national chief coach Pulella Gopichand got his hands on the All England and once again put India in the limelight.

But since then he personally has been working hard to train his shuttlers and help them get the title. Though we have seen women shuttlers of India take away most of the coveted titles and highly regarded for the same but they are yet taste the All England success.

Saina Nehwal's best finish came in 2015 where she ended as runners-up, losing to Carolina Marin. Last year she was ousted in the quarters, now fighting injuries and trying to get back to full her fitness. She started the year on a good note, winning  the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold. Since then she has been focusing on getting back more stronger to compete in England.

Meanwhile, her compatriot, PV Sindhu too began 2017 on high, winning the India Grand Prix Gold but her real challenge will be the All England. Though Sindhu has two World Championship medals, Olympic Silver medal, Superseries title, the 21-year-old hasn't been able to go beyond the first round at the All England. She would want to break that jinx this time and move ahead.

On the other hand, in the men's singles after Prakash and Gopichand's success there hasn't been anyone who has come close to winning the title. Playing in the main draw this year will be Kidambi Srikanth, Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy. But these shuttlers have not been able to go beyond the second or third round.

Parupalli Kashyap who had a quarter-final finish in 2013 missed out on the tournament in 2016 is set to skip it once again as he is nursing an injury. But he still desires to get his hands on the title.

We do have one pair participating in the men's, women's and mixed doubles category this year but it is a tad bit difficult for them to get their hands on the coveted title yet.

To conclude, the legendary shuttler has an advice for today's shuttlers,

"One of the lessons for today's youngsters which I have learnt from my playing career would be not to keep complaining and not to take things for granted. Instead, work patiently and gradually towards greatness."

Starting March 7th, all eyes will be on this competition and the Indian badminton fans would love to see a new name be edged in the books of history.

Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.