BANGALORE: After the Indian badminton team made history by routing Indonesia 3-0 in the final to win their first-ever Thomas Cup trophy, the badminton legend Prakash Padukone walked down the memory lane and hailed the remarkable contribution by now Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar and BPL CMD Ajit Nambiar.
In an emotional note written to Chandrasekhar, Padukone stated that the seed of India’s Thomas Cup triumph was laid in 1994 when they (Chandrasekhar and Nambiar) unswervingly supported Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.
“Majority of the people will not know that you and Ajit have played a big part in this win by supporting our academy way back in 1994. No one knew about badminton sponsorship in India at that time but you had the vision to support us and that too not for an event but for coaching,” he recalled in the letter.
“On this historic occasion, I remember with gratitude your contribution and wish to thank you, and the entire BPL family (on behalf of all badminton lovers of this country) for having reposed faith in our abilities and supporting us without knowing what to expect in return. The seed for this victory was laid then,” he wrote.
Prakash Padukone Academy was the first badminton academy in the world which was privately supported. In all other countries, badminton academies were supported by the national governments.
“It has been a long wait for all of us but finally the dream has come true. Thank you once again for all that you did for us in those good old days. We will never forget your help and assistance given to us when we needed it the most,” Padukone concluded.
The Union Minister was moved by Padulone’s letter and expressed his sentiments in a Twitter post.
“A great person is one who never forgets those who stood by him or her. Prakash Padukone is one such person and I was very moved to receive his message after India’s Thomas Cup 2022 win about our association way, way back,” he tweeted.