From Olympic Pressure & Privilege to Boardroom Power: Aparna Popat on Winning Beyond Sport

Описание: “Women are always expected to be collaborative and compassionate, which is great, but we should also know how to compete and take our space,” says Aparna Popat - two-time Olympian, nine-time consecutive Senior National Champion, Arjuna Awardee, and one of the most dominant forces Indian badminton has seen.

Long before her current boardroom seats and sports governance roles, there were early mornings on court - when women didn’t get prime slots, fresh shuttles, or equal visibility. And she learned quickly, if women wanted the same attention as men, they often had to work twice as hard.

In this episode of UpClose: Road to #SheSparks, we sit down with Aparna Popat to unpack excellence, pressure, reinvention, and leadership beyond medals.

This is not just a story about winning. It’s about belief, internal balance and competing for your space - unapologetically.

We talk about:

• Nine consecutive national titles - discipline behind sustained dominance
• Pressure as privilege - representing India on the Olympic stage
• Pursuit of excellence vs the myth of perfection
• Competing in an era with limited funding, exposure and belief
• Why women athletes had to outperform to be seen as equal
• Confidence built from evidence - not noise
• Reinvention after early retirement - adding new identities beyond sport
• From locker room to boardroom — clarity and calm under pressure
• Why leadership is not just collaboration, but also competition

If you’ve ever felt overlooked, had to prove yourself twice over, or wondered how to compete without losing yourself - this conversation is a reminder that excellence compounds - one decision at a time.

SheSparks 2026 | March 14th | IIT Delhi
Register now - https://events.yourstory.com/shesparks

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