Aparna Popat is a former Indian badminton player who represented India in international competition through the late 1990s and 2000s. She is best known for winning the national women's singles title nine times in succession and for representing India at two Olympic Games.
| Full name | Aparna Popat |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 January 1978, Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Sport | Badminton |
| Event | Women's singles |
| Coach | Prakash Padukone (Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Bengaluru) |
| National titles | Nine consecutive senior national women's singles titles |
| Olympics | Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 |
| Honours | Arjuna Award (2005) |
Popat was born in Mumbai and took up badminton in her childhood. She moved to Bengaluru to train at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy under former All England champion Prakash Padukone, who shaped her singles game during her formative years.
Popat first attracted wide attention as a junior. In 1996 she reached the final of the World Junior Badminton Championships (the Bimantara World Junior Invitational), finishing as runner-up, and she also won the Asian Junior Championships title in the same period.
On the senior circuit, she dominated the Indian national women's singles scene, winning the senior National Championships nine years in a row. During this period she succeeded earlier Indian women players such as Madhumita Bisht as the country's leading women's singles exponent before Saina Nehwal emerged later in the decade.
Popat represented India at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics in the women's singles event. She also competed for India at multiple editions of the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games, the Uber Cup team competition, and the BWF World Championships, and won medals at the South Asian Games.
Recurring injuries, particularly to the knee and shoulder, affected the latter part of her career, and she retired from competitive badminton in the late 2000s.
After retiring, Popat has remained associated with badminton as a commentator, analyst and mentor, and has spoken on player welfare and the development pathway for Indian women in the sport. She has also been associated with corporate and sports administration roles.
Popat is regarded as a transitional figure in Indian women's badminton, bridging the era of players such as Madhumita Bisht and the later international success of Saina Nehwal and P. V. Sindhu. Her sustained dominance at the national level over nearly a decade and her training under Prakash Padukone helped establish a more professional women's singles environment in India.