History was made in Hangzhou, China, as Christo Popov becomes the first Frenchman to reach a BWF World Tour Finals final.
Popov has had an impressive week for the big season finale. The 23-year-old qualified as fifth seed following this year’s French Open runner up finish and semifinals in Singapore, Japan, China and Hong Kong. He’s the only men’s singles player without a 2025 tournament win, but this could certainly change this week.
The left-hander topped a difficult group A, winning all three matches against Anders Antonsen, Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Jonatan Christie, all in three games.
In today’s semifinal, Japan’s Kodai Naraoka looked to make it a long physical match, however, with Popov securing the opening game, he took complete control and gained a 6-0 lead in the second game. This set the tone as Popov remained focused and undistracted by the trickshots and high serves, running away with it and winning 21-19, 21-8.
The final will be against the winner of a repeat of the World Championship final, Shi Yu Qi and Kunlavut Vitidsarn. A guaranteed thriller.
Speaking yesterday, Christo Popov said:
“This means a lot to me. I think fans in France are really looking forward to watching me play tomorrow. If I hadn’t qualified, or my brother (Toma Junior Popov) qualified or Alex (Lanier), I would be proud of them. I think these kinds of results are good for France and show that we are growing as a nation.”
France in recent times have emerged onto the world stage of badminton, competing and reaching the top podiums, and tomorrow Popov has the opportunity to win one of the biggest prizes of them all, joining Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen as Europeans who have previously won the title.
It is also an opportunity to grab his first World Tour tournament win in Asia as all his previous titles have been in Europe. Will tomorrow be a day of firsts?
