Former shuttler Prakash Padukone set to travel to Paris Olympics as mentor
Legendary shuttler Prakash Padukone is all set to travel to the French capital for the forthcoming Paris Olympics 2024 alongside the 15-member Indian badminton contingent. Paris 2024 is scheduled to start on July 26 and will conclude on August 11.
Most recently, two-time Olympian PV Sindhu confirmed Prakash Padukone as her mentor ahead of the quadrennial event in Paris and shifted her base from Hyderabad to Bengaluru. Notably, ace shuttler Lakshya Sen is a Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) products
A Commonwealth Games 1978 gold medallist in men's singles, Padukone retired from the sport in 1991. Badminton was introduced at the Olympics at the Barcelona Games in 1992.
After he retired, Padukone was appointed chairman of the Badminton Association of India. Later, he was roped in as the coach of the Indian national badminton team from 1993 to 1996.
Prakash Padukone among 8-member support staff to travel to the Paris 2024 Olympics
The 15-member badminton contingent includes seven players and an eight-member support staff, including coaches, mentors, and physios.
"There are seven players and eight support staff, including the coaches and physios," a source told PTI.
"Pullela Gopichand, RMV Gurusaidutt, Agus Santosa, Vimal Kumar, and Mathias Boe will be the coaches traveling to Paris, while Prakash Padukone will go as a mentor. Zeinia Samar and Kiran Challagundla will be the two physiotherapists on the team."
It’s worth noting that Pullela Gopichand is the current Indian national chief coach. Meanwhile, RMV Gurusaidut is training HS Prannoy, with Mathias Boe coaching the ace men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and the women’s pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto.
On the other hand, former India coach Vimal Kumar has been training Lakshya Sen with Agus Santosa assisting PV Sindhu in Bengaluru.
While Kiran has been with the Indian national badminton team for a long as a physio, Zeina joined Sindhu’s camp recently after the shuttler decided to move to Bengaluru, aiming for her third Olympic medal at the Paris Olympics.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the Indian team’s chief coach Gopichand opted not to travel with the team after officials had kept a cap on accompanying athletes due to COVID-19.
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