At 19, Alex Lanier is the current French number 1 and returns to the lands of his achievement.
At the end of last August, the world number 16 won theOpen du Japon (Super 750, the second category of the world circuit). He then followed up with a semi-final at the Danish Open (Super 750).
We will find the new French badminton prodigy in Kumamoto for the BWF Japan Masters 2024 (Super 500) from November 12 to 17, 2024.
In the first round of the men’s singles tournament, he will face the Chinese Li Shifengworld number 9, for a shock at the start of the tournament. The latter reached the round of 16 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Christo Popov had better luck in the draw, he will face a qualifier. His brother, Toma Junior Popovis on the other side of the table and will face the 15th in the world, Lu Guangzu. If he wins, he could face the Japanese, Kodai Naraoka, 4th in the world.
The Olympic champion, Victor Axelsenwill also be present in Japan, and will start favorite, as defending champion, against Wang Tzu Wei (Chinese Taipei). Born in Kumamoto, Yushi Tanaka should be strongly supported by the local public.
The Popov brothers are also lined up in doubles, where they will meet, in the first round, the Malaysian pair, 14th in the world: Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee.
Among the women, the Indonesian Gregoria Mariska Tunjungbronze medalist at Paris 2024 will be there. The world number 3, the Chinese Wang Zhiyi will be the number 1 seed.
The Korean An Se Youngworld number 1, will not be present at the BWF Japan Masters, like her runner-up, the Chinese Chen Yufei.
In mixed doubles, the French pair, 22nd in the world, Thom Gicquel et Delphine Delrue will discover their opponent at the end of the qualifications. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Gicquel and Delrue won their last match of the group stage.
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