Biography of Aparna Popat
Aparna Popat who was born in 1978 in January in Mumbai, Maharashtra was 16th among the badminton players of the world in 1999. Although she was born in Mumbai, she moved to Bangalore which has a better institutional training. Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy is where Aparna Popat got her training.
Before joining this academy in 1994, he trained Anil Pradhan who was a national champion in doubles. She won the French Open in 1998. Also, in the same year,
Aparna Popat won a silver medal for her feat in the Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur. One of the main achievements of Aparna Popat is that she is the unprecedented champion of the women’s singles title for eight years.
Family Background and childhood
Aparna was born into a Gujarati family based in Mumbai. His parents, Lalji and Heena Popat have encouraged his passion for badminton since childhood. She joined Anil Pradhan’s teaching at the age of eight.
Pradhan managed to take time to realize that this girl was not normal. He told his parents, “Give me that girl and I will put her on the Indian badminton map.”
And that’s what he did! She became the face of badminton in India during his illustrious 17-year career. Aparna can be called the undisputed queen of badminton.
In 1994, Aparna moved to Bangalore and started training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.
She was coached there by the champion himself and his game improved dramatically.
The third coach who played a major role in shaping his career was Gangula Prasad. He trained after moving to Sports Authority of India training center.
The Carrer of Aparna Popat
Aparna Popat started playing badminton in 1986, when she was only 8 years old. Although initially she was interested in tennis, but lack of proper facilities and early introduction to badminton stopped her tennis ambition.
Popat is Anil Pradhan, the badminton coach of the Cricket Club of India, who himself is a two-time national champion. She encouraged Aparna to take badminton seriously. By the age of 13, She had won many tournaments and became a good badminton player. In 1994, Aparna Popat moved to Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy based in Bangalore to improve her playing skills.
In 1989, Popat defeated Neelima Chaudhary to win the 12-nation badminton tournament held in Bangalore. Aparna Popat’s first national championship win came in 1997, where she defeated Manjusha Pawangadkar in Pune. After her first win, Aparna created history by winning the national championship at the same time for a record 9 times till 2006.
By winning this title 9 times in a row, Aparna Popat broke Madhumita Bisht’s record of won the title in a row. 7 seasons from 1984 to 1990. Aparna Popat has made her presence felt in the international badminton scene. In 1996, he participated in the World Junior Badminton Championships held in Denmark where She won the silver medal.
She won another silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. In the same year, he set a new record by becoming the first Indian player to win the French Open. She won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and reached the semi-finals of the Swedish badminton championships. At the age of 27, Aparna won the last of her nine national titles against 15-year-old Saina Nehwal. Currently, Aparna is working for Indian Oil Corporation in Mumbai.
Make an international mark
In 2012, Aparna participated in a sports coaching program organized by the US State Department and ESPN. Known as the Global Sport Mentorship Programme, its main objective is to create “sustainable sports opportunities for vulnerable women and girls around the world”. Aparna had the honor of being one of the 17 selected members. Then-Secretary of the United States Hillary Clinton got involved herself. In an interview with Sportskeeda, Aparna shared her experience.
Awards and honors
Finally, the government of India recognized her extraordinary talent and efforts as an athlete by awarding her the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2005. After her remarkable performance in the Commonwealth Games, Aparna was also honored by the state governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The hill is like a special badminton court.
