At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the two brothers Toma Junior and Christo Popov will represent France in doubles at the badminton tournament. Embroiled in a controversy despite themselves following a calculation error which put them ahead of the Ronan Labar-Lucas Corvée pair at the last moment, they confided in RMC Sport.
Toma Junior and Christo Popov, it’s been a long time since we heard from you. How are you ?
Toma Junior Popov: It’s okay! We took a few days off after the long European tour and the European Championships. Today, we are preparing for the Asian tour which will start next week in Malaysia. There will also be the interclub play-offs this weekend, so it’s a pretty busy schedule!
Toma, you were guaranteed to participate in the Olympic Games in singles. What does that mean to you?
TJP: It was a consecration. The qualification was very long with ups and downs. With Christo, we got away with it. He was in front, I was in front… In the end, it came down to the European tour. We have both produced an exceptional level, especially over the last five weeks. It’s a source of pride to be going to the 2024 Games. We’ve been talking about it since the 2019 European Championships. It was something that was very important, a goal to achieve.
For you Christo, the week of the European Championships was also full of emotions. How did you experience it?
Christo Popov: It’s not very complicated. I was shattered when I arrived at the European Championships. Whether I’m 100% or not, it wasn’t a good draw to be against Alex because he’s a very good player, there’s no doubt about it. Maybe with another table I could have gone further and I would have ensured my qualification. But that’s the game! It is not played out over a single competition but over an entire year. I have no regrets, I pushed a lot throughout this qualification. I pushed the limits of my body and after a while you pay the price. That’s what’s difficult about an Olympic qualification: it’s over a year, it’s a marathon and it takes a toll on the body. It’s like that.
So you end these European Championships with Toma’s singles qualification but, at that moment, no doubles qualification. Two weeks later, you learn that you are back in front in the men’s doubles rankings and that you will both go to the Olympics. What was your reaction?
CP: Toma was in Denmark at the time. At the time, I said to myself that there was perhaps a small error since there had already been typos in the rankings during the year. I told myself that the BWF (the international badminton federation) was going to rectify it. Finally, we realized that there had indeed been a typo, but upside down! That is, they had corrected a past mistake and this was the true ranking. And there, of course, we were happy.
And you Toma?
TJP: I was in Copenhagen and my dad called me and said, ‘Look at the rankings, they’ve moved. This isn’t normal, what’s going on?’ We watched with the coach and our English consultant-coach. They redid the accounts and finally it was the real ranking. When I went to train at the Danish national center, the players told me that this was the real ranking, that they had also done the accounts and that a lot of people had moved in the Olympic qualification. For me, it was a relief because I was happy to be qualified but it made me angry for Christo. I wanted him to come. I told my father, ‘If there is a way to qualify him, I will be the happiest.’ Finally it happened and my father said to me, ‘Your wish has come true.’
Ronan Labar and Lucas Corvée spoke. They find it unfair that the BWF did not realize its mistake sooner. It could have changed the ranking and the way you qualify for tournaments. What was your first reaction to Ronan and Lucas? Were you able to exchange?
CP: As soon as the European Championships ended, we were on standby. We were waiting for clarifications, there were not necessarily discussions with them. We heard everyone say that they would not go to the Games because of a calculation error but, conversely, if no one had noticed it, they would have gone there even though we were legitimately ahead. Everyone says that we are going there for a calculation error when it is the opposite and we took it a little badly. But we recognize that it is very difficult and that is why we have kept silent. We didn’t want to speak out because we were waiting for information. Everything is a bit vague, we didn’t want to say anything as long as it could change. They spoke out, that’s normal.
TJP: As long as we were not officially qualified or unqualified, we could not say or observe anything. We didn’t want to take a position. It’s completely normal for them to defend their place. For our part, we just waited.
You have been training together often lately for the Olympic qualification. Didn’t it hinder your relationships?
CP: We don’t hope. We had no communication with them. I think they must obviously be going through complicated times. For our part, it doesn’t change anything because it’s neither their fault, nor ours, nor that of the French federation. It was the BWF that made a little mistake from the start. We hope that our relationships will not suffer.
This error by the BWF from the start of the Olympic qualification slightly taints the image we can have of badminton. How do you view this situation?
CP: Some people realized the mistake before the BWF made it public. I don’t know if the players in question realized that but I think so. If they had spoken out before, from the start of the error, it would have been rectified and we would not have talked about it. As soon as there is an error in football, it is rectified after a few weeks. In our case, the error is unforgivable, but I think everyone has their share of responsibility.
TJP: Especially since everyone was impacted! We are the most obvious case since the place of the French doubles was decided between them and us for the Games in France. But this error changed the ranking and the quotas for other countries too. We were told it happened in other sports. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last.
Christo, a few weeks ago you thought you wouldn’t make the Games, finally you will be there in doubles. What is your feeling?
CP: That’s great. Qualifying in singles was a personal and professional project. Qualifying in doubles was of course a professional project but it was very close to my brother and me and the team around us. We are still a team and going to the Games together is much more important and impactful than going alone. We managed to do it so we are very happy.
TJP: It was a family project. I think it was also very important to our parents.
And for you Toma, the fact that Christo is still making the Games relieves you even though you took the place in singles?
TJP: Ah yes, clearly! I think that in the family, a big weight has fallen. And then it’s much more rewarding when we go together. I think I would have enjoyed the Paris 2024 Olympics experience less if I had been alone. There, I’m with my brother, we’ve been together since we were little.
How do you plan now that you are going to the Games together?
CP: We have not yet started the preparation phase for the Games. We are very focused on the Asian tour because the circuit never stops. The Olympics will last a week and then it will be over. Once the Asian tour is over, we will focus 100% on the Games and the goal is not just to participate. It’s about performing well and getting the medals. We will try to prepare as best we can.
TJP: Especially since we are the first French doubles to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Have you managed to put aside the controversy of the last few weeks to stay focused in training?
CP: Our luck is that we are far from all that. We have a superb team around us and we have managed to keep our work routines.
TJP: In any case, we had to prepare for the Asian tour. We were focused on that. And then after the tour, we’ll have a month and a half, two months, to prepare for that.
CP: We had no control over it anyway.
The Games will begin in just over two months. There will be the opening ceremony on the Seine, the Olympic village, etc. Can you imagine your first Olympics?
CP: We’ve never experienced it, it’s a first experience in all aspects. I’m just looking forward to being there and experiencing these Games from the inside as an athlete and we’re going to try to live it to the fullest.
TJP: It’s the holy grail of every athlete. Just to participate, to find ourselves among the best athletes in the world and to share this celebration, we are already lucky. That it’s with us is even more rewarding. And if we manage to achieve something, it would be monumental.
You are the first French pair at the Games, you are brothers. Obviously it attracts attention. Do you realize the wait around you?
CP: Yeah for sure. In all sports, you need performances and great stories to get people talking about them. In recent years, it is especially our results in the youth categories and on the World Tour that have put us and our siblings in the spotlight. A performance at the Olympics would be a great springboard for badminton.
TJP: In any case, this is the first time that France has qualified in all five disciplines. It’s also the first time that there is a French women’s doubles at the Olympics, it seems to me. We already represent France at its best.
What would a dream Games look like, Toma?
TJP: I would have to have two medals.
And you, Christo?
In any case, we will play against the top levels in the world. I already want to have enormous pleasure. It’s every four years, anything can happen and it’s also perhaps the only time we’ll go to the Games, although I also hope to go to the next ones. Take maximum pleasure and achieve the best possible performance. Don’t have regrets even if there is no medal. To give everything.
Comments collected by Léna Marjak
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2024-05-15 15:50:11
#achieve #monumental #double #ambition #Popov #brothers
