Nandu Natekar, badminton’s first superstar, dies at 88

New Delhi, July 28

Nandkumar Mahadev Natekar, who died today at age 88, was a superstar badminton player of the first two decades after Independence, much before Prakash Padukone and Syed Modi entered the scene.

Famous as Nandu Natekar, he was the first Indian to win an international badminton title, at the Selangor International in Kuala Lumpur in 1956, and was a six-time national champion.

Known for his grace and artistry on the court — and not power and speed during an era when players were not extremely athletic — Natekar led India in the Thomas Cup team championship from 1951 to 1963. When the Arjuna Award for excellence in sport was first given in 1961, he was among the sportspersons honoured.

Natekar’s six national singles titles are exceeded only by Padukone (9) and Syed Modi (8).

His best show at the All England Championships was reaching the quarterfinals in 1954 — falling short of the achievement of the now-forgotten Prakash Nath, who had reached the final in 1947. Nath could well have become the first great of Indian badminton but after hearing of rioting near his home in Lahore just before the All England final, he lost the title match and gave up the sport.

Natekar was a very good tennis player, too, but after losing the junior national final to the great Ramanathan Krishnan in 1951-52, he decided to concentrate on badminton.

Inspirational

Natekar inspired a generation of players, including Dinesh Khanna — the first Indian to win an Asian title — and Vimal Kumar, the former national champion and coach.

“My father was a big fan of himhellip; In fact it was after he saw him during a national event at Trivandrum that he put up an outside court at our house and that’s how I got initiated into badminton,” Vimal said.

Khanna said he was mesmerised when he first saw Natekar play in New Delhi in 1956, when Khanna was only 13. “It was my first national and I was awestruck to see his backhand. I could never imagine that it could be played with such fluency and finesse,” Khanna said. “Power and smashes were not his forte but he used to make it up with his precision.”

“Nandu came one generation before me. I’ve seen him play during the later stages of his career,” Padukone said in his tribute. “He was one of the most stylish badminton players in the world, alongside Suresh Goel and Trilok Nath Seth.”

Padukone said that in Natekar’s era, the focus was on style and grace, not power. “Style and grace came naturally to Nandu. Players of my generation viewed Nandu as a pioneer,” he said.

“For us, he is a true legend in Indian badminton. He is someone who is well-respected and we have heard stories about him,” P Gopichand, the second Indian to win the All England title and now the India coach, said. — TNS, Agencies