Badminton star Prakash Padukone defeated by Syed Modi in straight games

Dethroned ace PadukoneIt was, at the end, a classical downfall. When last month badminton star Prakash Padukone went down to challenge Syed Modi in straight games in Vijayawada, he was merely confirming what had been whispered in sports circles, that Padukone had dropped from his prime.And, it raised fresh doubts about his prospects at the All-England championship only weeks away, where he first won international laurels and stature with his superb win only one year ago.The capacity crowd at the 3,500-seat Dandamudi Rajagopala Rao Stadium in Vijayawada watching that closing minutes of the Vikas Topiwala challenge Cup Tournament, gave Modi a standing ovation as he dashed across the court and put his arms around Padukone.For 21-year-old Modi, it was the cathartic culmination of a three-year wait to have a crack at the country's nine-time national champion. And, as a forlorn Padukone walked off the court after his 10-15, 9-15 defeat, like many others, he must have wondered why it had to happen.Champions, especially All-England title holders, are expected to deliver. Prakash, constantly aware of his stature became tense and eventually wilted under pressure. For Modi being an underdog was a definite advantage. Nobody expected anything out of him and so the Gorakhpur-based railway officer played his natural best - a fast and aggressive game with bounce and bravado that forced the superstar into errors.Prakash failed miserably on his backhand and threw away six points by tossing the shuttle out or into the net, in the first game itself. More points came Modi's way in a similar fashion in the second game. When Modi leading 13-9 served, Prakash played the return wide. And soon after Prakash gave away the matchpoint by returning the service beyond the baseline.New champion ModiModi's Flair:It was Modi's day all the way. He played with flair and delighted the crowd with his lunging and uncompromising game. For once Modi packed power to the grace and rhythm of his movements to make the 45-minute match the most memorable of his career. The fluent tosses, neat flicks and subtle net play worked well his way.Two years ago at the Udaipur nationals Prakash trounced Modi, then national junior champion, 15-6, 15-1, and then at the Jamshedpur nationals he defeated an improved Modi 15-8, 15-7. Apparently Modi had learnt from these experiences how Prakash's tactics of varying the pace and points of attack worked. After attaining a certain stage all champions play their matches usually like any other.They virtually stitch the opponent into the fabric of defeat with strokes as relentless as a sewing machine. But Modi was prepared. He answered with precision and psychological rebuffs too as he rejected the faster shuttles that Prakash picked up at least five times in the match in the hope of using it to outpace Modi.Perhaps Prakash has struck a bad patch. A dedicated player he once said "you cannot go for movies, or for a walk on Bangalore's M.G. Road and at the same time be world champion." He still ranks among the top with stars like the 24-year-old Liem Swie King of Indonesia and the 22-year-old Dane Morton Frost Hansen. But his performance in recent months belie the expectations of him on the international scene.He lost the Friends Provident Masters title that he won in 1979, the inaugural year and went down to Hadiyanto in the Jakarta world championship. And in the same fortnight he lost to Modi, Prakash bowed out of the Japanese open championship losing to Pongoh, the promising Indonesian player. Incidentally, Prakash's earlier defeat, to an Indian player was in 1974 to Iqbal Maindargi at Bombay.He is bound to be back at the next nationals in Kerala to avenge his defeat by Modi before the Asian Games in '82. Of immediate interest, however, is the Und of challenge he will provide at the All-England.Railway's Victory: Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Ami Ghia retained the women's championship title. This is her sixth win of the Olympian Challenge Cup, barring a break in 1977, and completes two hat-tricks. The Western Railway officer also helped the Railways win the women's doubles and mixed-doubles titles.For the Indian Railways, Vijayawada, the venue of the championship, is the vital nerve centre of north-south links. And for its badminton stars including Ami and Modi, Vijayawada is the vortex of victories. The Railways pulled away with eight of the nine titles including the team championships while Tamil Nadu bagged the men's doubles title.The matches generated a fair amount of excitement in the coastal Andhra town. The heavy turnout and spectator interest show that the second string of badminton centres like Udaipur, Jamshedpur and Vijayawada might soon vie for international contests.The Badminton Association of India is planning to hold a Pound 35,000 (Rs 6.6 lakh) prize money tournament at Pune in July-August this year. But as the Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association Secretary Egbert Samraj summed up: "The Vijayawada national shows that spectators and sponsors are there. Even the crowd for the All-England final is only about 5,000. What we need is more class players."Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 25, 2013 15:33 IST--- ENDS ---

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Badminton star Prakash Padukone defeated by Syed Modi in straight games

It was, at the end, a classical downfall. When last month badminton star Prakash Padukone went down to challenge Syed Modi in straight games in Vijayawada, he was merely confirming what had been whispered in sports circles, that Padukone had dropped from his prime.

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