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Aparna Popat
Popat is the only Indian to qualify for the women's singles in Athens.
Date of Birth: January 18, 1978
Event: Women's Singles, Badminton
First Olympics appearance: Athens 2004
Records at Olympics: -
Achievements: Bronze at the Commonwealth Games 2002
Ranked 23rd currently and India’s number one shuttler Aparna Popat is the only Indian to qualify for the women's singles at the Athens Olympics. Two-time national champion is another serious contender for a medal at Athens. She won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games 2002.
But in February 2000 Popat tested positive for the forbidden substance ‘phenylpropanolamine’ and was banned for a year. Though she still believes it was not her fault. Her world ranking then was 23 but soon plummeted to around 80, a massive drop. Determined to prove her detractors wrong she worked her way up regaining her ranking.
At Athens the Chinese will pose stiff challenge but she says she has been playing them well taking the score to something like 11-8, 11-7 against them in her recent encounters and stands a fair chance to beat on a given day.
