This Sunday, Christo Popov made French badminton history by winning the prestigious BWF World Tour Finals in China, becoming the first French player to win this major trophy.
A historic victory in Hangzhou
What a week for Christo Popov! The 23-year-old shone in the final of the BWF World Tour Finalsa tournament which brings together the eight best bad players of the season, beating Shi Yu Qiworld number 1 and reigning world champion, on his home soil at Hangzhou (Chine) .
Never before has a Frenchman won this elite event: a historic first which places Popov in the legend of French sport.
An impressive flawless performance
Like in the semi-final, where he dominated the Japanese Kodai Naraoka(21‑19, 21‑8), Popov gave his opponent of the day no chance. He won in two sets (21-19, 21-9), despite the exceptional record of Shi Yu Qi – multiple Super 1000 winner (China, England, Malaysia Open) and world champion.
With this triumph, the former 8th in the world before the tournament ends the year in 7th place in the ranking a notable progression which confirms its rise to power on the international scene.
Five games, five wins
Consistency was Popov’s strength this week. In the group stage, he signed three wins in three matchesagainst big names like Anders Antonsen , Kunlavut Vitidsarnet Jonathan Christie finishing first in his group without losing a set.
Then he won his semi-finalbefore going for the title against the Chinese champion, thus completing a perfect series of five victories in five matches .
A rising star of world badminton
Born in Sofia (Bulgaria) but raised in France, Popov has been considered for several years as one of the greatest hopes of French badminton. little brother of Toma Junior Popov and traveling companion of talents like Alex Lanier(also in the world top 10), Christo confirms that he is now part of the world elite.
Last year, he had already thrilled the French public by reaching the final of theOpen de Franceproving that he was ready for the biggest meetings.
A title that changes everything
With this success at the World Tour Finals, Christo Popov not only signs a remarkable individual performance: he places French badminton on the list of great sporting nations. At 23, he laid a new stone in the credibility of his discipline in France.
What if 2026 promises to be even more grandiose?
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