Sans ban, Aparna will hit back

PUNE, APRIL 14: Short-term goals have been Aparna Popat's formula for success. Having broken up her long-term goals into attainable milest...

PUNE, APRIL 14: Short-term goals have been Aparna Popat8217;s formula for success. Having broken up her long-term goals into attainable milestones, her progress at both national and international levels 8211; has been steady, but consistent and, one thing at a time and that, done well,8217; her credo.

From being runner-up at the World Junior Championship in Denmark in 8217;96, winning the French Open in 8217;98, to a silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur in the same year, Popat has been undisputable in the country for the past three years barring a lone loss to Neelima Choudhary at the PSEB Championship in February 8217;00.

It is safer then, to presume that with her impressive report card, Popat, undoubtedly, remains India8217;s principal badminton hope.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise then, that the three-month ban, recently imposed on her by the International Badminton Federation IBF for inadvertently taking a banned stimulant, proved a shocker for the country8217;s badminton fraternity and that too on the eve of Sydney Olympics.

Amid rife speculation about Popat8217;s chances, her downslide in terms ofworld ranking is no good news. According to the latest buzz, the 22-year-old Bangalore-based lass, who reached a career-best rank of 23 in February 2000, has since dropped to 46.

A fragmented analysis of the period since the ban March 30, to date, places the drop at a phenomenal 18 places i.e: from 28 to 46.

Popat8217;s loss covers the points earned during the Uber Cup Preliminaries at New Delhi, where the player8217;s two best results were the ones counted. That came up to 384 points, of which 24 were bonus points, earned for beating highly-rated players.

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As far as qualifying for the Olympics 8212; the period runs from May 1, 1999 toApril 30, 2000. Any world ranking points earned during this period arecounted. Further, the top 29 players in the singles events qualify, butagain, this is not purely based on ranking alone. Players ranked 1-16 are taken in turn and qualify up to a total of three players per country. Playersranked 17-64, are then taken in turn and qualify up to a total of two percountry.

Likewise, at least one player from each continental confederation Asia,Africa, Europe, Pan-America and Oceania must qualify, according to IBF8217;squalifying guidelines in a nutshell. In view of this, Popat stands a goodchance of making the trip to Sydney. The picture, however, will be cleareronly sometime in May, when, as per Olympic guidelines, the IBF will releasethe list of qualifiers.

For Popat, who has been under the tutelage of her role model Prakash Padukone at the Bangalore-based academy since 1994, breaking into thetop-10 was top priority. Unfortunately, the ban has rendered thisimpossible.

These unfortunate circumstances are owed largely to the lacunae of BAI8217;s functioning with delicate issues that include precautionary measures for dope control. And that, when the IOC announced, well in advance, that they expected the millennium8217;s first Olympics be a near-total dope free8217; Games.

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However, Popat8217;s composure has been dealt a body blow, and her calculated struggle to cross each milestone, has been betrayed by an unforgivable act of unprofessional governance by a sports authority.

But with her proven gritand tenacity, she should make the grade. After all, she carries the aspirations of one billion people on her shoulders. She will do her part, while we wait, watch and root for our badminton.