Aparna Popat

About Aparna Popat

Aparna Popat is a former Indian badminton player. She was India's national champion for a record equalling nine times when she won all the senior national championships between 1997 and 2006.

Career Highlights:

• Aparna captured her first Senior National title at Hyderabad in 1997. She went on to win the Senior National title till 2006, thereby equaling the Prakash Padukone's record of winning nine consecutive national singles titles.
  
• She won her last of the nine Senior Nationals titles at the age of 27 after defeating the 15-year-old Saina Nehwal at Bangalore in January 2006.
  
• The highlights of her achievements at the international level are participation in 2 Olympic Games, 1 Asian Games, a Silver Medal at the World Junior Championships in 1996 and 4 medals in 3 Commonwealth Games appearances.
  
• She reached career-high world ranking of 16.
  

Aparna Popat Achievements

She was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2005, one of the highest sporting honors in India awarded by the Government of India.

She was one of the 17 participants to be selected from around the world and the lone Indian to be selected for the Global Sports Mentoring Programme, an initiative by the promoted by Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State and espnW. This prestigious programme was aimed at empowering women and girls through sport.