Prakash Padukone to Mentor Indian Badminton Squad at Paris Olympics

Legendary Indian badminton player Prakash Padukone will serve as a mentor to the 15-member Indian badminton squad at the upcoming Paris Olympics, scheduled to commence on July 26. Padukone, who became the first Indian to win the prestigious All England Championship, retired in 1991, just before badminton made its Olympic debut at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Padukone's inclusion in the Indian contingent is particularly significant for two players: Lakshya Sen and P.V. Sindhu. Sen is a product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), while Sindhu announced Padukone as her mentor ahead of the Paris Games after relocating her training base from Hyderabad to Bengaluru. Sindhu is preparing for her third Olympic appearance.

The Indian badminton squad will also be accompanied by a team of eight support staff, including coaches and physiotherapists. Pullela Gopichand, the national chief coach, will lead the coaching staff, which also includes RMV Gurusaidutt, Agus Santosa, Vimal Kumar, and Mathias Boe. Zeinia Samar and Kiran Challagundla will serve as the team's physiotherapists.

Gopichand is responsible for overseeing the national badminton program, while Gurusaidutt has been training HS Prannoy. Boe is the coach of the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, as well as the women's doubles combination of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto. Vimal Kumar, a former India coach, is currently training Lakshya Sen, while Agus has been training Sindhu in Bengaluru.

Kiran Challagundla has been a long-time physiotherapist for the Indian badminton team, while Zeinia Samar recently joined Sindhu's camp after her move to Bengaluru in pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic medal.

In the previous Olympics, Gopichand opted not to travel to Tokyo due to restrictions on the number of officials accompanying athletes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, at Paris, the Indian shuttlers will be aiming to continue their medal-winning streak, having secured a silver and two bronze medals over the past three editions of the Games.

The badminton events at the Paris Olympics will commence on July 27 and conclude on August 5.

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