Medalists
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bronze | Prakash Padukone | Badminton | Men's singles |
The 1981 World Games were the first World Games and were held in Santa Clara, California in the United States. The games featured sports that were not included in the Olympics. India competed at the 1981 World Games in Santa Clara and won one Bronze medal in Badminton Men's Singles. [1]
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | Prakash Padukone | Badminton | Men's singles |
The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 days. The World Games are governed by the International World Games Association, under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee.
Stevens Stadium is a 7,000-seat soccer stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. The stadium is the current home of the Santa Clara Broncos soccer teams and was the former home of the now defunct Santa Clara football team as well as the Santa Clara baseball team. The baseball team moved to their new home at Stephen Schott Stadium in 2005. The stadium is the former home of the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. The stadium's capacity was increased in the winter of 2007 from a capacity of 6,800 to 10,300. The stadium was named Buck Shaw Stadium before a renovation in 2015.
The 1981 World Games were the first World Games, an international multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California in the United States. The games featured sports that were not included in the Olympics, including tug-of-war, racquetball, baseball and softball, artistic roller skating, roller hockey, roller speed skating, finswimming, karate, women's water polo, bowling, bodybuilding, waterskiing, casting, badminton, trampoline, powerlifting and taekwondo. Best estimates for attendance figures were that about 80,000 spectators witnessed the first World Games.
Softball was introduced as a World Games sport at the 1981 World Games in Santa Clara and discontinued after the 1985 games in London. It was reintroduced as a women's invitational sport in 2009 in Kaohsiung after it had been removed from the Olympic Games programme, and from 2013 it was again part of the official Program.
The Santa Clara Broncos are athletic teams that represent Santa Clara University. The school colors are red and white. The nicknames for teams is The Broncos and the student fans are referred to as the "Ruff Riders". The Broncos compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA) as members of the West Coast Conference of which Santa Clara is a charter member.
The Santa Clara Broncos football program was the intercollegiate American football team for Santa Clara University located in Santa Clara, California. Santa Clara played its first football game against St. Mary's College in San Francisco in 1896. Santa Clara compiled an all-time record of 352–244–28 (.587).
The Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball team represents Santa Clara University in NCAA Division I basketball competition. The team plays home games at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, California and have been members of the West Coast Conference since its formation in 1952. The team is currently coached by Herb Sendek, who had previously been the head coach at NC State and Arizona State. Sendek was hired on March 29, 2016.
Karate was introduced as a World Games sport at the 1981 World Games in Santa Clara, California.
Roller Hockey was introduced as a World Games sport for men at the 1981 World Games in Santa Clara. In 2005 it was replaced by Inline hockey.
Finswimming has featured as a trend sport at the World Games since the inaugural 1981 World Games held in Santa Clara, California.
Water skiing was introduced as a World Games sport at the 1981 World Games in Santa Clara, California.
The World Games I baseball competition was held on July 27-30, 1981, at San Jose Municipal Stadium in San Jose, California. The 1981 Games were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were held in California's Santa Clara Valley. Teams from the United States, Australia, South Korea and Panama participated.
The World Games I women's water polo competition was held on July 25-27, 1981, at Santa Clara International Swim Center in Santa Clara, California. Teams from the United States (2), Netherlands and Canada participated. Six days before the first game, Canada had become the newly-crowned World Cup champion in Brisbane, Australia, in a competition that included the same three teams that medaled in these Games.
Both men's and women's softball tournaments were conducted during World Games I. The games were played July 30 - August 2, 1981 at Central Park in Santa Clara, California. Teams from the United States, Canada, the Bahamas and Chinese Taipei participated in the women's event, while in the men's event, the United States, Canada, the Bahamas and Mexico were initially slated to appear. As the time of the Games approached, the Mexican team withdrew for financial reasons and was replaced by a second team from the United States.
Roller hockey was one of the sports featured in World Games I. The 1981 Games were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California in the United States. Roller hockey or its more recent variant, inline hockey has appeared in all editions of the World Games to date, except 1997.
The racquetball events of World Games I were held on August 1–2, 1981, at the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara, California, in the United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of Santa Clara. This racquetball competition also served as the first Racquetball World Championships tournament in the sport of racquetball. In addition to the five nations mentioned below, athletes from Japan also participated in the competition.
The road speed skating events of World Games I were held on August 1, 1981, in the vicinity of Marriott’s Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, California, in the United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of Santa Clara. This was the first time that the marathon and half-marathon road events were conducted in international competition. Tom Peterson of the United States set an American record in winning the marathon.
The karate events of World Games I were held on July 25–27, 1981, at the Toso Pavilion on the campus of Santa Clara University in California, United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of city of Santa Clara. It was anticipated that Japanese athletes would perform well at karate. They did so by winning 12 medals among the nine events, including five gold medals.
The powerlifting events of World Games I were held on July 25–26, 1981, at Marriott's Great America amusement park in its Grandstand Pavilion in Santa Clara, California. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of Santa Clara in the United States. The powerlifting events apparently had a dearth of competitors, as there were no bronze medals awarded in eight of the nine events, and lifters representing the United States won 15 of the 18 medals awarded. In the -100kg class, Jim Cash of the U.S. set world records in both dead lift and total lift.
The finswimming events of World Games I were held on July 25–27, 1981, at Santa Clara International Swim Center in Santa Clara, California, in the United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of Santa Clara. Athletes from Italy won 16 of the 36 total medals. France followed with 11 medals. Jürgen Kolenda of West Germany collected four gold medals.