After a whirlwind of successes, Prakash now had one foot in India and the other abroad. His heart was never ready to leave any competition, whether national or international.
They say that when a person is on the ground, they dream of reaching the summit, and when they reach some height, they aim for the peak. But even after reaching the peak, human desires do not cease. Then they dream of staying on top.
Prakash's journey did not stop either. After being honored with the Padma Shri, he set his sights on preparing rigorously for the upcoming World Championship. His mind was restless to win the 1983 World Championship.
Prakash knew well that once someone becomes a star in India, preparing for a challenging mission becomes extremely difficult—almost impossible. The overenthusiastic media here cannot leave a VIP alone for long enough to allow them to quietly focus on their goals. The media can't rest without sharing every move, and people can’t resist commenting on them.
How could one gather the focus, like Arjuna, to aim at the bird’s eye under such circumstances?
The only solution was for Prakash to complete his intense practice and training abroad. For this, he chose his favorite destination, Denmark, in Europe.
There was no issue with staying there. He had support from financial, family, and governmental sources. Prominent players like Morten Frost were part of his friend circle now. So, he decided to stay there to achieve two goals: training and competing in major tournaments.
But no person’s life is without its other aspects. Man is a social creature with family ties. Prakash had raised his racket to the highest peak of the sport, but now, a new concern stirred in his family’s hearts.
The boy who had never looked up at anyone disrespectfully, what if his raised racket now bowed down in front of some foreign woman while living abroad?
Prakash was a son of a traditional family from a small district in Karnataka. It wasn’t in his nature to choose his life partner independently. His family knew that, just as his sports-officer father had handed him a racket, they too would have to find a virtuous bride for him to settle down with. An arranged marriage was inevitable for this obedient son.
Prakash had never given any indication that he had feelings for anyone or that he thought about choosing a life partner. Like any typical Indian family, Prakash's family also arranged his marriage with a homely girl named Ujjwala. After a traditional Hindu wedding, a delicate wrist joined the strong hand that had always held a racket.
In the 1983 World Championship held in Copenhagen, Denmark, Prakash won a bronze medal in the singles category and finished third.
Prakash had a good command of both English and Kannada, his mother tongue. He also won the international Thomas Cup held in India.
In professions like sports, modeling, and acting, career spans are usually short. These fields require physical strength or beauty and youth, which do not last long. Although, in the film industry, there’s now a positive change where older actors are still appreciated on screen, which has been a norm in Hollywood for a long time. There, realistic cinema is more influential than purely decorative films, allowing actors to continue their careers longer based on their talent, not age.
Prakash never used his achievements for commercial exploitation.
In the early 1980s, while staying in Denmark and being in close contact with his European friends, Prakash remained focused on his game and continued to win medals. He won the gold medal in the Dutch Open in 1982, secured second place in the Denmark Open and Scandinavian Open.
His achievements continued in 1983, where he became a runner-up in the singles category at the China Taipei Open, Japan Open, Dutch Open, and India Open. The following year, in 1984, he played in the Thailand Open, where he again finished as a runner-up. In 1985, he was once again the runner-up at the Chinese Taipei Open.
Prakash also won silver medals in doubles at the Japan Open in 1981 and the US Open in 1988.
This was a golden era of consistent success for this great player. Such an enormous achievement had likely never been seen in any sport by any Indian athlete.
His stay in Denmark brought more than just athletic success. After his marriage, Prakash kept his family with him during his intense training there, and during this time, his wife Ujjwala gave birth to their first child, a beautiful daughter, in Denmark.
Thus, Denmark became a second home for this evergreen legend, Prakash Padukone.
Not only did he receive a shower of medals, but he also received the first gift of family life—a child—in the beautiful landscapes of Denmark.
India’s Prakash had conquered Denmark too!
