Nandu Natekar, the first Indian badminton player to win an international title and the first one from the sport to win an Arjuna award died in Pune on Wednesday.
Having won six national titles, Natekar had reached the quarter-final of the All England Open.
His success in the individual events was reciprocated when he was part of the Indian team at the Thomas Cup, winning 12 out of the 16 Singles matches and 8 out of 16 in Doubles between 1951 and 1963. He also led India in the competition on three occasions- in 1959, 1961 and 1963.
He was also a sound tennis player and had lost the national junior championship final to Ramanathan Krishan.
Tributes poured in for India’s sporting great and here are some of the top reactions.
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