Christo Popov marked the history of French badminton this Sunday. The badista from Fos-sur-Mer won the BWF World Tour Finals in China, a tournament bringing together the eight best players of the season. In the final, he won in two sets (21-19, 21-9) against the world number one, the Chinese Shi Yu Qi, signing an extraordinary performance in the process since he did not lose a single match all week. Christo Popov spoke to RMC Sport just after his coronation.
Christo, tell us about this final won in two sets against the world number one?
It’s incredible. It was a final with a very complicated first set, but which I managed to swing to my side. Then a second set with a very complicated start, big points, but I manage to create a gap. Shi Yu Qi is also physically affected a bit, it shows at the end, so very happy to win this battle. It’s one of the most important finals of my career. The World Tour Finals are not something we can afford to do every year. You have to perform well throughout the season and especially during the competition. A final is incredible and winning it is even better.
You were only eight players, the best of the season, what does this victory represent?
That says a lot and I don’t just think about myself, but also about the opponents. Because in the middle of the season, I was the outsider who was, little by little, performing better and better. Then, I qualify for the Finals, and I win them so I think I’m giving them a big blow. And obviously, the level of play increases, especially my consistency. I am capable of having it over a whole week, over five matches in a row. Winning against the world’s top 8 is something I’ve never done before. It’s done now, it’s incredible.
It’s a victory that you share with your dad, in the coaching chair, and your brother, Toma, as sparring partner. There must have been a lot of emotion for the family…
We were all moved. But we were also in a bit of a rush to catch our flight. We had to go to Shanghai at the airport, we were packing up our suitcases very quickly. So we’re going to take the time, a little later, to do all that. But frankly incredible, the whole team played a very important role for the performance and for the victory.
What were your father’s first words at the moment of victory?
He said to me “well done, it was incredible”. They were all very moved, my dad and the physical trainer. They told me I was a monster, as they say in the south (laughs).
During this week, you do not lose any matches. What was the key? The physical?
It’s possible, physically I’ve reached a milestone. It’s true that all the matches were very complicated in the group. I must have had the most playing time before leaving the group. It also helps to be young (23 years old) and to recover faster. We also have a training program at home which is very complicated, very hard. Three training sessions per day minimum, we really train a lot. So, to have, just one match per day, even if it is very long, obviously we have a lot of after-effects, muscle fatigue, but I managed to recover throughout the week, so it was cool.
However, in the first match, you scared yourself with a slide. Did you have to deal with pain?
I played all the matches strapped to my ankle. I had a little shock behind. I had a little pain but especially during the last two group matches. I played around with painkillers. The federation physiotherapist did a really good job. Every day I felt better and better, until today (Sunday) when I had almost no pain.
You become the first Frenchman to win the Word Tour Finals, do you realize that you are making the history of French badminton?
We are very happy to break barriers and do historic things. I’m obviously happy to be the first person. I think there will be more in the years to come. In any case, I hope so, because France is growing, we have more and more good players. It’s something incredible. If we had said fifteen years ago that we were going to have two people in the top 10 in men’s singles (Christo Popov 8th, Alex Lanier 7th, Editor’s note), it would have been unthinkable when we have never already had any in the top 20. Now we also have three in the top 15 with my brother (Toma Popov 15th). Honestly it’s incredible. I think it will be something almost commonplace to qualify for the World Tour Final in the years to come.
Will this victory change the outlook of your opponents? You are no longer going to be an outsider but a favorite now…
Yes, I totally think so, that’s for sure. Especially over the next few months, the people who are going to play against me will obviously think that. It will change their outlook as well as mine. They will say to themselves “he won the Finals”, I will be a bit of a favorite, so everyone will play relaxed, play hard and have nothing to lose against me. Obviously it’s a status that I must now assume, it’s a new challenge for me.
Before the competition, you told us: “Whoever wins the tournament will have to be brought back in a wheelchair.” What state are you in?
I’m doing pretty well. I am very happy. I think yesterday’s (Saturday) semi-final in two sets was a lot of fun, I had a lot of recovery time before the final. Glad to have a very well trained body for this week. In any case, we were well prepared.
What is the program now?
We’re going to celebrate, spend the Christmas holidays with family. It’s a moment that is very important in our family, but also for me, to really free yourself and think about something else. We’re not at home much during the year, so if there’s really a time to take advantage of getting together, it’s during the Christmas holidays. It’s going to be super cool.
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