If you google Padukone, the search engine throws up over 1.6 million hits. Of these, a little over a million are for movie star Deepika Padukone, compared to less than half that for Prakash Padukone, her father, who transformed the profile of badminton in the country when he became the first Indian to win the All England title, the sports most prestigious tournament and one comparable to Wimbledon in its aura, in 1980.Padukones win came more than 100 years after badminton was introduced to, and then became the rage in, British India.On August 22, 1873, the Manchester Guardian carried a curious bit of news in an item on the British Empires Kashgar Mission. It said that the game of badminton had taken Indian society by storm. Proof of this was readily available in the pages of the Times of India of 1874. The newspapers correspondent from Mahabaleshwar reported that the hill town had gone badminton mad. The woods are deserted, and old and young spend their mornings and evenings in dark spots, playing this evidently fascinating game. The correspondent, however, disapproved of the obsession with badminton, saying that a good healthful gallop, or a walk was far more beneficial to the young, especially girls.The correspondents views evidently did not have too many takers, since badmintons popularity, especially in western India, grew by leaps and bounds.From the 1930s, an all India championship and a Western India championship were held regularly. Given the history of the games growth, some of the best Indian players were from the west and the north, with Prakash Nath, who got to the All England final in 1947, and Nandu Natekar being some of the finest of their time.Padukones home state of Mysore, as Karnataka was known till 1973, figured nowhere on the badminton map, however.His father, an employee with the state-run Indian Telephone Industries Ltd, was instrumental in his taking up badminton. But like most Indian sportspersons of the time, Padukone achieved what he did with little help from the state. He honed his skills in a wedding hall in the Canara Union, a religious and social centre for the Chitrapur Saraswats, the caste group to which he belonged, and at the Malleshwaram Associations court in Bangalore. According to his biographer, Dev Sukumar, the peculiar dimensions of the Canara Union hall, whose roof was 20 feet high, with girders at 17 feet, influenced Padukones playing style.From early on, Padukone showed prodigious talent on the court and as a 16-year-old he won both the senior and junior badminton nationals in 1971, a feat that has not been matched since. He had all the qualities that a newspaper correspondent in 1874 believed a good badminton player should have: the cool head, the bright eye, the firm wrist, the healthy physique.Yet no one expected him to scale the heights that he did in a sport dominated by the Indonesians, Malays, Danes, and subsequently the Chinese. When he won the All England, it was the first time, billiards excepted, that an Indian had won an individual sports premier global tournament.The Times of India reported of the reception he got when he returned to Bangalore: A huge crowd of relatives, friends and fans cheered him as he entered the airport terminal... Soon after the red carpet welcome, the sports hero... was taken in an open jeep... Prakash was garlanded profusely all along the 14km drive.It was typical of Padukones solidly middle-class background that one of the first things he did on reaching Bangalore, according to the newspaper, was to touch the feet of his 84-year-old grandfather. What had also gone unnoticed was that even while the All England tournament was on, Padukones family announced his wedding with Ujjala Karkal in the newspapers engagements column.In winning the All England, Padukone defeated two of the all-time greats of modern badminton - Morten Frost of Denmark, a four-time winner, in the semi-final, and the Indonesian legend Liem Swie King, a three-time winner, in the final.What marked Padukones style of play was his emphasis on touch and guile. Much like the dribbling skills of hockey legend Dhyan Chand or the elegance of Ranjitsinhji, it was the wristy play that beguiled opponents.In 1980, besides the All England, Padukone won the other two most important tournaments at the time, the Swedish and Danish Opens. Newspapers labelled his feat as a badminton Grand Slam. He followed it up by winning the World Cup in 1981.After losing to Padukone in the final of the 1980 Danish Open, Frost called his opponent the master of feigned shots. When I arrived on the scene, I was at first awed by the lightning-quick speed and power of the Chinese and Indonesians... Prakash was one of the few who had managed to provide some resistance to their domination with his wristy, deceptive and counterattacking style.After that, despite the occasional good performances until he called it a day in 1988, Padukone never scaled the heights of 1980. But his All England title had a lasting impact.Sukumar correctly, albeit with a touch of hyperbole, points out: The All England win did more than just enhance the countrys prestige. Within the country it created a revolution. It pitchforked badminton into national consciousness, making it on par with cricket and hockey. It created a reference point for Indian sporting history; henceforth, all sporting accomplishments would be measured against this.When Padukone gave up a secure job in the state-run Union Bank and turned professional about a year after the All England win, it served as proof to future players that if they were good enough they could survive without the states benevolence.The revolution wrought by Padukone inspired many of Indias future badminton stars. This was particularly true of Pullela Gopichand, the only other winner of the All England title from India. Prakash sir was somewhere there on the horizon for me, Gopichand recalled of his early years. I realised that that All England is the worlds most prized and premier badminton championship. The way people talked about it, I could sense it was something big.It was not just inspiration that Padukone provided to the next generation. He helped shape the future through the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, which began operations in 1994 at the Canara Union, the very same courts where he first learnt his game. Gopichand joined the academy in 1996 and spent a few years there and said that Prakash took pains to play with and train him individually. Not surprisingly, when Gopichand won the All England, Prakash was glued to the television, watching his one-time protégé emulate him.That link between former stars and the present generation that Padukone set a precedent for has continued with Gopichand and Saina Nehwal. Nehwal, who became the first Indian woman to achieve the world No. 1 ranking in badminton and win a bronze medal in the Olympics, trained under Gopichand at his academy in Hyderabad.Besides Nehwal there are several other Indian badminton stars, such as PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and Gurusai Dutt, who regularly win international tournaments. Their excellence in a game that has been around in India for nearly 150 years, and has always been very popular with the middle classes, can be credited to one man and his path-breaking win at the 1980 All England.Ronojoy Sen is the author of Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India Cheap Air Jordan 11 Retro Blue . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Cheap Jordan 11 Win Like 82 .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. http://www.cheapjordans11online.com/cheap-air-jordan-11-retro-orange/ . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. Cheap Air Jordan 11 Retro Black . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Cheap Air Jordan 11 Retro Grey . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. STILLWATER, Okla. -- After a dominating victory last week over Southeastern Louisiana, No. 22 Oklahoma State knows it will face a much more difficult test on Saturday against Central Michigan.The Cowboys also faced the Chippewas last season, and rallied for a 24-13 victory on the road. Coach Mike Gundy acknowledged that experience will help get the point across to his players that this is an opponent they cannot afford to overlook.I dont think theres any question that we have respect for that league, theyre notorious for upsets, Gundy said. Us playing them last year and realizing that theyve got good players, the world that they live in is pretty competitive. It helps out with preparation during the week.Central Michigan (1-0), from the Mid-American Conference, boasts an NFL quarterback prospect in senior Cooper Rush and a stingy defense that returned eight starters from the unit that ranked 16th in the nation last year in total defense.Coach Mike Bonamego, whose squad opened with a 49-3 win over FCS school Presbyterian, believes his group has prepared the right way and will be ready.Your preparation, when you commit yourself to the process, isnt going to be any different if youre playing Presbyterian or Oklahoma State, Bonamego said. If you dont prepare well, you cant expect to play well, bottom line. Its going to be a big challenge for us. I dont see any dropoff from Oklahoma State from last year to this year. I actually think in a lot of ways, they are better.Some things to watch for on Saturday:NO OFFENSE: After scoring two non-offensive touchdowns last week (one by Madre Harper on a fumble recovery just 1:45 into the contest following a punt, and another on a fumble return by cornerback Ramon Richards), Oklahoma State leads the nation with 39 such scores since 2010. The Cowboys (1-0) forced four turnovers to run their total to 179 since 2010, ranking third over that timeframe, behind just Houston and Oregon.RUSH HOUR: Rush is highly regarded, by NFL scouts and Gundy. After a strong 2015 in which he completed 66.3 percent of his passes and ranked 14th in the nation with 3,848 yards, with 25 touchdowns and just 11 inteerceptions, Rush threw for 237 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-26 passing last week, along with two interceptions.dddddddddddd Ive always been a big fan of the quarterback, Gundy said. Hes a potential NFL player. When you have a quarterback of that caliber, you certainly have the opportunity to score some points.SPREAD THE BALL AROUND: Oklahoma State is still sorting through its depth chart at running back, with four different backs carrying the ball at least four times in its season opener, and none more than six times. Sophomore Jeff Carr led the group with 42 yards and a touchdown on six carries, while freshman Justice Hill gained 33 on six rushes. And thats not counting the Cowboys most experienced ball carrier, senior Rennie Childs, who rushed three times for 21 yards. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich credited running backs coach Marcus Arroyo for managing the group. Its not easy sharing all that playing time, Yurcich said. And those guys all want to be the guy, so for them to have the attitudes that they have, and unselfishness, I think you have to give coach Arroyo a lot of credit for his leadership and management of that room.SPREAD IT, PART 2: Central Michigan also employed a running back-by-committee approach in its opener, although Devon Spalding was the clear leader of the group, gaining 135 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Freshman Jonathan Ward rushed seven times for 79 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown, and Jahray Hayes ran for 43 yards and three scores on nine rushes. All three of the backs ran very well, Bonamego said. I think our offensive line executed at a high level. They opened up some nice lanes for the runners.O-LINE EXPERIENCE: Oklahoma State returned all five of its starters from last seasons offensive line, a group that had combined for 106 career starts, the highest total in the Big 12. 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