Popat annexes record 9th title

BANGALORE: Twice Olympian Aparna Popat created history by winning the National title for ninth time in a row even as international shuttler Anup Sridhar retained his National Championship at the 70th National Badminton Championship here on Wednesday.

Aparna defeated 16-year-old junior national champion Saina Nehwal 13-11 11-3, while Anup defeated top seeded Arvind Bhat 15-12 15-4.

Twenty seven year-old Aparna, who won her first national title in 1989 at the tender age of 11 and had never looked back, thus equalled the record of former All England Champion Prakash Padukone’s number of national title.

Saina, winner of two junior titles in 2005 wanted to make it a treble by winning the Wednesday’s seniors title, but proving her supermacy Aparna, ranked 35 in the world ranking, avenged the defeat at the hands of Saina in the Asian Satelite Championship at Delhi in 2005.

Speaking to newsmen after the match, Aparna, who had never looked back after winning the mini nationsl title in 1989, said that, “I am very thrilled.  I had a game plan and implemented it and succeded. Though there was lot of pressure on me I concentrated on winning each point and it paid me finally.”

Replying to a question, she said, since my body needed rest after playing for four years in the international and national tournaments, I took a break for six months and now I have to concentrate on Thomas/Uber Qualifiers scheduled to be held in February in Jaipur and also Commonwealth games at Manchester in March.

In men section, the first set saw a keen battle between Anup and Arvind but it was regining champion who prevailed upon to win the set at 15-12.