"My New Badminton Hero...": Sunil Gavaskar Impressed With This Youngster

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Sunil Gavaskar, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning cricket team, paid a visit to the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy during a regular trip to the city on Thursday

The legendary cricketer had hailed Padukone several times while doing cricket commentary over the years, saying he is one of India's greatest sportspersons. Sen, who has been one of India's most prolific sportspersons in 2022, said he was too star stuck to react.

"It feels good to hear such things from such big personalities. Honestly, I was too star stuck to react," Sen told PTI.

The 21-year-old from Almora won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the India Open Super 500. He was also a member of the historic Thomas Cup win. He also won silver at the All England Championships and is also the winner of the 2021 World Championships bronze medal.

"Gavaskar sir spoke about the Thomas Cup win. I have heard so much about him from my parents and all the seniors. Also when I watched the movie '83', I got to know what went behind that epic win," he said.

"I can relate to it now, essentially after the Thomas Cup win because back then they were the underdogs and in Thomas Cup, it was us." India had claimed their first-ever Thomas Cup, beating Indonesia 3-0 in the final at Bangkok in May last year.

Asked what did Gavaskar discuss with the budding shuttlers, Vimal said, "He also gave some tips to the youngsters, asking them to analyse what went right in a day to get the best out of training.

"Gavaskar and Prakash are two self-taught heroes of Indian sport, so coming from him means a lot." Gavaskar's love for badminton is well-known. He was the co-owner of Mumbai Masters, a franchise which made the last-four of the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL).

Whenever the former cricketer is in Mumbai, and is able to spare time from his busy commentary schedule, he makes it a point to play a few games of badminton.