The young French badminton prodigy Christo Popov wins silver in the first edition of the Nantes International Challenge.
After a relatively easy group stage, the Frenchman had to apply himself to reach the final. Faced with the Dane Mads Christophersen, Christo has not found the solution, he bows and climbs on the second step of the podium.
Badminton, the DNA of the Popov family
Badminton, he couldn’t really avoid it. A former player and coach father, a referee mother, the steering wheel seems to be in the DNA of the Popov family.
If the story begins in Bulgaria, it is quickly written in France for Christo and his older brother Toma Junior “Tomi”. At one and four years old, the two brothers discovered France and Fos-sur-mer where the family settled. It is in the gymnasium of the club directed by their father that the Popov brothers go to do their classes.
Christo and Tomi: a strong link between competition and ambition
Very quickly, their level impresses. First in the youth categories, Christo was junior world vice-champion in 2019. He won gold in all categories (singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles) at the French championships the same year.
In 2020, Christo is crowned European junior champion and at only 17 years old, he becomes the youngest player to win the senior French championships. In 2022, the one who followed in the footsteps of his big brother, Tomi, finds himself facing him in the final of the French championships. Another victory on his record, but a match he would have preferred to play against another partner. The brothers reconcile in men’s doubles, where they win gold. Sign of a brotherly bond irremediably linked to the field.
The figure of an ambitious French badminton
While French badminton often struggles to assert itself in the face of the domination of Asian nations, the Popov brothers draw new possibilities and open the way to a new “golden generation” with in particular Arnaud Mercklé, junior European champion (2018) and French champion (2021), and with Alex Lanier.
Uninhibited, the two brothers display their ambitions: to continue winning and to climb the world rankings. In the viewfinder the Olympic Games of Paris 2024, and in the head a dream of a medal in doubles together!
Solenn Ravenel
