Indian badminton legend Nandu Natekar died on Tuesday in Pune. He was 88. One of India’s earliest badminton stars, he was the first sports...
Indian badminton legend Nandu Natekar died on Tuesday in Pune. He was 88.
One of India’s earliest badminton stars, he was the first sportsman to receive the Arjuna Award for sporting excellence.
He was first Indian badminton player to to get an international medal and make his way to the quarter-finals of the All England. He also had six national titles.
He was born in Sangli, first represented India in 1953 at the age of 20 and had a distinguished career where he saw several highs both individually and as part of a team.
Know Your Legend: Nandu Natekar, independent India’s first badminton superstar
He entered the quarterfinals of the coveted All England Championships in 1954, which incidentally was also the only year when he participated in the competition and but later on, achieved success while playing in the veterans category, winning the doubles in 1980 and 1981 and finishing second in 1982.
His success in the individual events was reciprocated when he was part of the Indian team at the Thomas Cup, winning 12 out of the 16 Singles matches and 8 out of 16 in Doubles between 1951 and 1963. He also led India in the competition on three occasions- in 1959, 1961 and 1963.
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