Being the oldest event, the All England Open Badminton Championship carries a lot of importance among the shuttlers. Every shuttler wants to play in the championship at least once in their career and lay their hands on the title.
Several Indian badminton players have featured in the All England Open, with five of them reaching the finals in their respective categories. But only two shuttlers managed to return with titles.
So here are the two Indian players who have won the All England Open Badminton Championship.
1. Prakash Padukone | 1980
A prominent name in the Indian badminton circuit, Prakash Padukone scripted history back in 1980. He became the first Indian shuttler to claim the All England Open in the men’s singles category.
It was a remarkable effort from Padukone to storm into the final and win the title. He started with a 15-7, 15-12 win over Malaysia’s Suffian Abu Bakar in the round of 32.
Padukone marched into the round of 16 and flattened Indonesia’s Hadiyanto by 15-0, 15-10. He then set up an easy victory against Denmark’s Svend Pri by 15-4, 15-4 in the quarter-final.
In the semi-final, Padukone was up against another Danish shuttler, whom he defeated by 15-8, 15-10 to set up a final against Liem Swie King. He overcame the Indonesian shuttler by 15-3, 15-10 to get crowned as the All England Open champion.
As Padukone emerged winner, he also went on to grab the No. 1 spot in the world badminton rankings.
2. Pullela Gopichand | 2001
Pullela Gopichand imitated his mentor’s feat after the turn of this century. He wasn’t the favourite going into the tournament but overcame all the odds.
Gopichand got off the mark with a dominating win against England’s Colin Haugton in the round of 32. He defeated the local player by 15-7, 15-4 to advance to the round of 16.
The right-hand shuttler continued his great form against China’s Ji Xinpeng, defeating him in two straight sets by 15-3, 15-9. Gopichand then made it to the quarter-finals, where he beat Denmark’s Anders Boesen by 15-11, 15-7.
In the semis, he faced a fierce challenge from Denmark’s greatest shuttler, Peter Gade. Gopichand had to sweat hard to win the match by 17-14, 17-15.
Gopichand squared off against Chinese Chen Hong in the men’s singles finale. Hong was also in good touch throughout the tournament, but he couldn’t do much against his Indian counterpart.
Gopichand swept aside the Chinese shuttler by 15-12, 15-6 to win the All England Open in 2001.
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