Christo Popov has been playing some truly impressive badminton these past months. In March he finished runner up at the Swiss Open where he defeated top players like Chou Tien Chen and Li Shi Feng along the way. In April he made it to the podium at the European Championships where only a tight loss to compatriot Alex Lanier kept him from yet another final appearance. Last week his Malaysia Masters run ended in the quarterfinals but once again it was only a narrow three game defeat that stood between him and a semifinal spot.

This week in Singapore the challenge looked even tougher as he faced world no. 3 Anders Antonsen in the first round. But once again Christo showed that he is in great form and on a good day he can beat anyone at the top level. The two were neck and neck up to 14–14 in the first game but from there it was all Christo Popov. He took the first game 21–17 and closed out the second even more confidently winning 21–13.

In the second round Christo will face either Rasmus Gemke or S. H. Prannoy who are set to play soon.

The tournament is still underway and several other Europeans have already been or will soon be in action on this opening day. A full recap of the European results will follow later today.