Following on from his victory at the Hylo Open in Saarbrück, Christo Popov delivered a top performance this Thursday morning by dominating <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/06/viktor-axelsen-in-great-triumph-smokes-in-the-final-bt-badminton/" title="Viktor Axelsen in great triumph: Smokes in the final | BT Badminton”>Tien Chen Chou (Taipei) for the first time in his career in three confrontations (10-21, 21-14 , 21-18). A performance achieved at the Kumamoto Masters in Japan (Super 500) which now allows him to compete against Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-final. “I can’t wait for tomorrow“, confides the Fosséen.
To give himself the right to compete against Axelsen on the night of this Thursday to Friday (in France), the youngest of the Popov siblings signed an impressive series of nine consecutive points to recover from a very bad situation in the last round ( 4-11, 12-18). “The conditions for playing in this gym are difficult with two very different sides. We have seen many mistakes from both sides…but especially mine (smiles). Despite this situation, I managed to keep my mentality and come back several times in the match, and above all be solid during money time“, appreciates Christo Popov (N.25) in full confidence recently on the world circuit.
This does not pass for Toma Junior Popov
If he was able to get rid of the world No.8, his brother Toma Junior did not have the same success a little earlier in the day against the 4th player on the planet, the Japanese Kodai Naraoka who was playing in front of his audience. The Fosséen made the tournament’s No. 2 seed suffer in the first round (24-22) before giving up later (21-9).
The next step for the Ditchen club concerns Christo Popov who will have everything to gain against the great star of the bad world.Axelsen or not, I’m going to give it my all“. A Provençal club which also follows the performances of its Dane Mia Blichfeldt, also victorious in Saarbrück, who took advantage of the abandonment of her Japanese rival to reach the quarter-finals in the women’s singles table.
