Bangalore: Two of India's famed shuttlers Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar believe that Morten Frost Hansen, the game's richest player ever, is a perfect role model for those aspiring to make it big in world badminton.
The way the legendary Morten went about earning name, fame and money was amazing, said the Indian duo as the four-time All England champion visits the Karnataka Badminton Association here to conduct a three-day clinic for coaches.
"In Europe he was really the undisputed No 1 and there was nobody to challenge him. Because of the consistency with which he used to win tournaments, in terms of prize money maybe he is the only one to earn more than a million dollars from badminton. This is apart from the big endorsements he had signed," said Vimal, who first saw the Dane when he played his maiden All England Championships in
1981.
It was sheer consistency that made a gritty Morten more successful especially with the tough Chinese and Indonesian players around. Vimal had a closer look at Morten's personality when he played for five years at the Wimbledon Squash and Badminton Club in south west London where Frost shifted his base to in the later half of eighties.
"What I really appreciate in Morten is the fact that he was equally at ease when he was playing in the far east heat as well as the cooler Europe. While the Indonesians and Malaysians found it difficult to play in Europe, Frost survived playing in non-airconditioned Asian stadiums with about 20,000 people watching him," said Vimal.
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