Nandu M. Natekar (

Undivided India Akhand Bharat (), also known as Akhand Hindustan, is a term for the concept of a unified Greater India. The idea of Akhand Bharat in it's most widely accepted form is that Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Myanm ...

, 12 May 1933 – 28 July 2021) was an Indian

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

national champion.

Career

Natekar won over 100 national and international titles for India in a career spanning 15 years. Natekar was the first Indian to win a title abroad, in 1956.PIB.NIC.IN
/ref>
/ref> Natekar was a director of Natekar Sports and Fitness (NSF). He won the Men's Doubles

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

a total of six times, Men's Singles National Championship a total of six times, and Mixed Doubles National Championship a total of five times. He was an alumnus of

Ramnarain Ruia College Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College is a college affiliated to the University of Mumbai, in Matunga, Mumbai, India. It was established in June 1937. The University of Mumbai granted autonomous status to Ramnarain Ruia College in year 2017. It co ...

, Mumbai. His son, Gaurav Natekar, is a seven-time Indian National Champion in

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. Natekar died in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

on 28 July 2021 at the age of 88.

Achievements

*Won National level Men's Singles and Doubles Championship, as well as Mixed Doubles, multiple times in India. *He has reached the last 8 in the All England Championships. *Included among 'the Greats' in a souvenir published by

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

during the

Thomas Cup The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships ha ...

series in 1954–55.Indiantelevision.com
/ref> *Men’s Singles Champion in the Selangor International Tournament in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

in 1956. His victory was also the first international victory by an Indian badminton player. *Recipient of the first Arjuna Award instituted in 1961. *Voted the most popular sportsperson of India in 1961. *Natekar and Meena Shaw won the Mixed Doubles title at Bangkok’s King’s Cup International Tournament in 1962. Won the Men’s Singles title at the same event in 1963. *Represented India at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in 1966. *Awarded ''Meritorious Service Award'' by the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

in 1989. *Honoured at the Jagatik Marathi Parishad in Mauritius in 1991. *Awarded ''Life-time Achievement Award'' by the Petroleum Sports Control Board of India in January 2001. *Awarded ''Sahyadri Navratna Puraskar'' in 2002, titled ''Ratna Saurabh''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Natekar, Nandu 1933 births 2021 deaths Indian male badminton players Indian national badminton champions Recipients of the Arjuna Award Racket sportspeople from Mumbai Marathi sportspeople Commonwealth Games competitors for India Badminton players at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games