Touch Play - The Prakash Padukone Story

by Dev S. Sukumar

The book covers the life and playing career of one of India’s greatest sportsmen. Prakash was a highly-respected figure in international badminton. He was the first to achieve a ‘Grand Slam’: The Swedish, Danish and All England titles in succession. He was ranked in the world’s top ten for close to a decade, and he was reckoned as one of the few players capable of resisting the dominance of the Chinese and the Indonesians.

The book traces his rise from playing in a wedding hall in old-world Malleswaram in Bangalore to the high-pressure cauldrons of Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, and other venues. It attempts to place his performance in the perspective of currents in Indian and international badminton. It is based on more than 200 interviews with family, friends, and Prakash’s national and international contemporaries, including 8-time All England champion Rudy Hartono, 1985 world champion Han Jian, four-time All England winner Morten Frost, 1983 world champion Icuk Sugiarto, and doubles great Christian Hadinata.

Prakash played at a time of international ferment. The ‘Open’ era, the rise of professionalism, and the arrival of the Chinese into the international fold happened early in his career. All three developments changed the character of the game — a record of Prakash’s career is therefore reflective of that period of world badminton.

The book was released by Prakash Padukone on the final day of the National Badminton Championships in Bangalore. Apart from a narrative of Prakash's exploits on the Indian and international scene, the book · A glimpse into Indian and world badminton history · A description of developments in Indian badminton between 1970 and 2001 · Sketches of Prakash’s international contemporaries · Sketches of prominent competitions such as the All England, the World Championships, and the Thomas Cup · A detailed history of badminton in Mysore

Unknown Binding

First published January 11, 2006

Reviews

[AMAN bHATIA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow start
Starts from the history of the Padukones , traces to his village and begins with the family and extended family
too many characters and places to keep in mind
so i left it midway

[Vikas Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

“For long, Prakash Padukone was the only name worth mentioning in Indian badminton, and Dev Sukumar, with his intimate knowledge of the sport, brings alive Padukone’s journey into the highest echelons of world badminton. This is sports writing in the finest tradition – minute tracking of Padukone’s earliest achievements, meticulous cataloguing of the lessons he learned on the way, the pitfalls and the praise, all the way to the famous title triumph at the All England Championships in 1980. Touch Play is a well researched, well narrated book, a deserving tribute to India’s first truly international star in badminton.”
-- The New Indian Express , Sunday Magazine book review, 18 June 2006

“The surprising aspect is that it had taken so long for a book to be written on Prakash. To that extent the author has done a service to the fans with his research on the maestro from Malleswaram in Bangalore. Right from the origin of the surname `Padukone’, the astrological prediction that `Prakash’ will shine like the name itself, to the final days of his active career and his BPL academy everything has been taken note of… The author has chronicled Prakash’s life, the tournaments he played, won and lost and the players he had confronted and influenced him like Rudy Hartono, Morten Frost, Liem Swie King, Han Jian, Svend Pri, Sugiarto and Pongoh. The tensions and emotions connected with the All England victory in 1980 and the World Cup in 1981 have been well brought out, as was his maiden triumph in the senior national championship (1972). His life in Denmark, the moments of solitude first and then life with Ujjala are well documented.
Yet one gets the feeling that it is not the story of Prakash Padukone alone but of badminton in India in his times. Syed Modi, Vimal Kumar, Gopi Chand, the politics in BAI, well everything gets a focus.”
-- The Hindu, Book Review, Feb 13, 2007

http://www.hindu.com/br/2007/02/13/st...

“Dev had taken over two years to come out with the book. He has done quite a bit of research and has spoken to several people in the game. Overall the book has brought out well the player in me.”
Prakash Padukone, in The New Indian Express, 14 June 2006

[Vijay Chengappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads less like a sports biography and more like a window into a vanished Bangalore—unassuming, inward-looking, and far removed from today’s professionalized, globally connected sporting world.

What’s easy to miss from a modern vantage point is the scale of the sacrifice. For Prakash Padukone, choosing to leave India for Copenhagen at the peak of his career wasn’t a glamorous foreign stint; it was a leap into uncertainty. No established pathways, no support systems, no assurance that the risk would pay off—just an uncompromising commitment to mastery.

That decision, in hindsight, feels almost radical. At a time when Indian sport barely acknowledged international excellence as a possibility, Padukone actively sought out tougher competition and better training, not comfort or validation.

It’s a reminder that true pioneers often don’t look revolutionary in the moment. They just keep raising their standards when no one is watching, laying foundations others will later take for granted.

[Sandeep Madkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prakash Padukone is a real badminton star of India. What he has achieved in Badminton for India is nothing but phenomenal.