Aparna Popat Husband, Age, Family, Biography
Quick Info→
Hometown: Mumbai
Education: MBA
Age: 46 Years
Bio/Wiki | |
---|---|
Other Name | Aparna Popat Ved (after marriage) |
Full Name | Aparna Lalji Popat |
Nickname(s) | Apu (called by her coach Anil Pradhan) |
Profession | Badminton player |
Physical Stats & More | |
Height (approx.) | 5' 4" (163 cm) |
Eye Colour | Black |
Hair Colour | Dark Brown |
Badminton | |
International Debut | IBF World Junior Championships (1996) at Silkeborg, Denmark |
Handedness | Right |
Years active | 1989–2006 |
Coach/Mentor | Anil Pradhan |
Medals | Commonwealth Games • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1998) - Women’s singles - Silver • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1998) - Women's team - Bronze • Manchester, England (2002) - Women’s singles - Bronze • Melbourne, Australia (2006) - Mixed team - Bronze World Junior Championships • Silkeborg, Denmark (1996) - Girls' singles - Silver |
Records (main ones) | First Indian women badminton player to have appear in 2 Olympic Games (2000, 2004) |
Awards, Honours, Achievements | Arjuna Award (2005) |
Personal Life | |
Date of Birth | 18 January 1978 (Wednesday) |
Age (as of 2024) | 46 Years |
Birthplace | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
Zodiac sign | Capricorn |
Nationality | Indian |
Hometown | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
School | J. B. Petit High School, Mumbai |
College/University | • Mount Carmel College, Bangalore • University of Mumbai • Sikkim Manipal University |
Educational Qualification(s) | • A pre-university course from Mount Carmel College • B.Com from University of Mumbai • MBA from Sikkim Manipal University (Distance) |
Food Habit | Non-vegetarian |
Hobbies | Watching Documentaries, Reading Books |
Controversy | In 2000, Aparna was banned for 3 months by The International Badminton Federation (IBF) for doping charges. She was taking medicines for cold which contained banned substance. Later, it was revealed that Aparna submitted the list of the medicines to the doctors appointed by the IBF, but the medical staff did not informed her about the banned substance. [1]The Times of India |
Relationships & More | |
Marriage Date | Year, 2011 |
Family | |
Husband/Spouse | Rajeev Ved |
Children | Daughter- 1 |
Parents | Father- Lalji Popat Mother- Heena Popat |
Siblings | Sister- 1 (elder sister) (Photo in parents section) |
Favourites | |
Cuisine | Gujarati |
Money Factor | |
Salary (approx.) | Rs. 34 Lakh per annum (as Independent Non-Executive Director at Zomato) (as of 2023) |
Social Media | |
aparnapopat | |
Aparna Popat | |
Aparna Popat OLY | |
Aparna Popat, OLY |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Aparna Popat
- Aparna started playing badminton at the age of 8 in the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.
- When Aparna’s coach Anil Pradhan saw her in training, he asked her parents to let him train her in Badminton. He said,
Give me this girl and I will put her on the map of Indian badminton”
- Aparna was interested in playing lawn tennis before coming into badminton.
- At 11, Aparna won the National Under-12 Badminton Championship held at Bangalore in 1989.
- Aparna represented India at the World Junior Championship when she was in the 9th standard.
- Arpana won the National title nine times in a row from 1997 to 2006, equalling the record of her mentor Prakash Padukone. She also broke the record of Madhumita Bisht, who won the National Senior Championship title consecutively seven times from 1984 to 1990. Arpana remained undefeated in the national championships till her retirement.
- Aparna was the only Indian among the 17 participants from around the globe selected for the Global Sports Mentoring Programme in 2012, an initiative promoted by then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ESPN to empower women and girls through sport.
- In 1994, after completing the 10th standard, Aparna moved to Bangalore at Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy and trained there for the next six years.
- At 16, she was given a scholarship by Air India, She played for the Indian Oil when she turned 18.
- Aparna won her first Senior National title in 1997 at Hyderabad, defeating the defending champion Manjusha in straight games.
- Aparna was a vegetarian but had to switch to a non-vegetarian diet for sporting reasons.
- In her badminton career, Aparna has participated in 2 Olympic Games tournaments, 1 Asian Games tournament, won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships in 1996 and 4 medals in 3 Commonwealth Games matches.
- At the Commonwealth Games held in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, she got a chance to meet Queen Elizabeth II.
- In 2001, Aparna won a gold medal at the Asian Satellite Tournament.
- Aparna won the IBF International women’s singles championship in 1998 (Sri Lanka International, French International, India International), 2001 (India International), and 2003 (India Satellite). She ended as runner-up in the competition in 1999, 2002, and 2005.
- In 2006, after 17 years of professional badminton, Arpana took retirement from the game due to a wrist injury which remained undiagnosed. She was the No.1 player in the country at the time of her retirement.
- After retiring from Badminton, Aparna worked for the Indian Oil Corporation in Mumbai. She resigned from the company as the Executive Director in 2015.
- Aparna coached the Mumbai Masters team in the first edition of the Premier Badminton League in 2013.
- Aparna has served as the Executive Director of the Olympians Association of India, and as of 2024, she is a member of the General Assembly of the Indian Olympic Association.
- Aparna is the Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer at All Is Well, a fitness app tech startup designed to enhance sports performance.
- Aparna also works at Zomato as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
- Aparna has done commentary with Star Sports for Badminton.
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