Allow me to acquaint Indian badminton lovers with an achievement that gives me a tiny claim to fame—I am the only Indian in the world to have seen the country’s two premier male badminton achievers, Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand, win the men’s singles title at the All England Championships, still considered the Holy Grail of the shuttle sport.

The foregoing statement can be made with utmost confidence since, although many would have seen televised versions of Gopichand’s victory over China’s Chen Hong in 2001, Prakash’s 1980 title triumph over the two-time defending champion, Liem Swie King of Indonesia, was never captured on film. The BBC, bless their little hearts, were far too passionately involved in covering a match on an adjoining court, where Brits Mike Tredgett and Nora Perry were doing battle for the mixed doubles crown.