Aparna Popat
Encyclopedia
Aparna Popat is an Indian badminton
player.
, Maharashtra
into a Gujarati family of Lalji Popat and Heena Popat. She studied at the J.B.Petit School in Mumbai, and her Pre university from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. Aparna also holds a Bachelors degree in Commerce from the Mumbai University.
’s Badminton Academy in Bangalore in 1994 to extend her ability. Aparna regards Prakash as her role model.
She captured her first senior national title, defeating Manjusha Pawangadkar at Pune in 1998. Aparna has been winning the senior national title since 1998, and there seems to be no rival to match up to her shuttle skills at the national level. She lifted the women’s singles title for the eighth year on the trot in the 69th Senior National Badminton Championship at Jamshedpur in February 2005.
She won the gold medal at the SAARC championships and a bronze medal at the Prince Junior Badminton Invitation Tournament, Hong Kong in 1996. She was the runner-up in the World Junior Championship at Denmark in 1996. She also won the Women's Singles in the French Open, Paris in 1998 and a silver at the Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur in the same year. She won a bronze at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. She also represented the country in the Sydney Olympic Games
2000 and was India's sole badminton representative at the 2004 Olympic Games, defeating Michelle Edwards of South Africa in the first round but losing to Mia Audina
of the Netherlands in the round of 16. She is employed with the Indian Oil Corporation
.
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
player.
Early life
Aparna Popat was born in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
into a Gujarati family of Lalji Popat and Heena Popat. She studied at the J.B.Petit School in Mumbai, and her Pre university from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. Aparna also holds a Bachelors degree in Commerce from the Mumbai University.
Career
Aparna started playing badminton at the age of 8 and by the time she was 13, winning National level and State level tournaments became a habit. While in Mumbai, she was trained by Anil Pradhan for 10 years. As a child while she was playing in a garden, when Anil Pradhan saw a spark in the girl and approached her parents and said "Give me this girl and I will put her on the Indian map of Badminton". True to his commitment he made a champion of her. He has also to his credit 3 national champions—Jyothi Sanghi, Radhika Bose. Radhika Bose was his first student who became a national champion. Under his able guidance, she developed the skill required to face many challenges of the game. After that, she shifted to Prakash PadukonePrakash Padukone
Prakash Padukone is a former badminton player from Karnataka, India. Among other championships, he won the All England Championship and became the first Indian to do so. Prakash was awarded the Padma Sri in 1982...
’s Badminton Academy in Bangalore in 1994 to extend her ability. Aparna regards Prakash as her role model.
She captured her first senior national title, defeating Manjusha Pawangadkar at Pune in 1998. Aparna has been winning the senior national title since 1998, and there seems to be no rival to match up to her shuttle skills at the national level. She lifted the women’s singles title for the eighth year on the trot in the 69th Senior National Badminton Championship at Jamshedpur in February 2005.
She won the gold medal at the SAARC championships and a bronze medal at the Prince Junior Badminton Invitation Tournament, Hong Kong in 1996. She was the runner-up in the World Junior Championship at Denmark in 1996. She also won the Women's Singles in the French Open, Paris in 1998 and a silver at the Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur in the same year. She won a bronze at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002. She also represented the country in the Sydney Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
2000 and was India's sole badminton representative at the 2004 Olympic Games, defeating Michelle Edwards of South Africa in the first round but losing to Mia Audina
Mia Audina
Mia Audina Tjiptawan ; born 22 August 1979) is a former Chinese Indonesian badminton player who represented Indonesia and later the Netherlands in international competitions. A badminton prodigy, Audina first played Uber Cup for Indonesia at fourteen, winning the decisive final match in the...
of the Netherlands in the round of 16. She is employed with the Indian Oil Corporation
Indian Oil Corporation
Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters are in Mumbai, India. It is India’s largest commercial enterprise, ranked 98th on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2011...
.