France men’s singles shuttler Toma Junior Popov in action against India’s Srikanth Kidambi in the quarter-final match of Malaysian Masters at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil on Friday. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Brothers Toma and Christo Popov's rise to the world's top 15 in the men's singles has raised French hopes of a historic medal in the World Championships from Aug 25-31 at home in Paris.
Christo and Toma have showed steady improvement this year, rising to No. 10 and No. 15 respectively in the latest world rankings, joining world No. 7 teammate Alex Lanier in the top 15.
Powerhouse China is the only other country to have three men's singles players in the world's top 15 - world No. 1 Shi Yuqi, world No. 4 Li Shifeng and Lu Guangzu (No. 11).
No French shuttler has ever won a medal in the world meet and Lanier and the Popov brothers will be keen to end the long wait in front of their fans at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle.
Among the three, fast rising youngster Lanier could have the best chance.
The 20-year-old created history by becoming the first French player to capture a World Tour Super 750 title when he won the Japan Open last year.
Lanier then did well to reach the final again this year before going down to Yuqi.
He also proved his ability when he captured the Orleans Masters title and reached the All-England semi-finals in March.
Lanier then won gold in the European Championships, beating Toma in an all-French final.
The player has already declared his intentions to win the world title.
Meanwhile, Christo caught the eye when he finished runner-up to China's Weng Hongyang in the Swiss Open.
The 23-year-old also did well to reach the semi-finals of the Japan Open and Singapore Open.
Christo has captured two World Tour titles so far in his career - the Super 300 German Open and Hylo Open last year.
Toma's best performance in the World Tour this year came in the German Open where he made it to the semi-finals.
Christo and Toma will also be competing in Paris together in the men's doubles and will be out to impress in the event too.
