KUALA LUMPUR: Christo Popov’s (pic) historic World Tour Finals triumph was the result of years of careful planning and development rather than an overnight breakthrough.
The 23-year-old became the first French player to win the season-ending Finals in Hangzhou, China, last month and credited France’s national set-up for laying the foundation behind the country’s rise in badminton.
“We had a strong young generation about five to 10 years ago and were already winning at the junior level,” said world No. 7 Christo.
“A lot of good work has been done to help these players make the step up to the elite level.
“It’s a tough transition, but now we have three men’s singles players in the top 15.”
Compatriot Alex Lanier is currently ranked world No. 8, while Christo’s older brother Toma Junior sits at No. 15.
However, Christo’s start to the new year did not go according to plan, as he bowed out in the first round of the Malaysian Open yesterday, losing 21-13, 19-21, 21-23 to Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu in a 74-minute battle at the Axiata Arena.
“There were some mistakes from my side and it was tough for me. I played a good game but it wasn’t good enough,” said Christo.
“The last six months have been good for me, but every top player is also competing here and the first round is always tricky.
“It’s good proof that being a favourite on paper means nothing.”
Christo will now shift his attention to the men’s doubles with Toma, who unfortunately also crashed out in the singles opening round after falling 14-21, 21-14, 5-21 to Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto yesterday.
Competing in two categories at the highest level can be taxing, but Christo said it was something the brothers had been managing well. “Currently, we are ranked No. 20, but in the big tournaments, we only get through to the later stages in some of them.
“So at times we are just playing one or two doubles matches. If we make it to the quarter-finals onwards, it will be tough to manage the fatigue.
“But right now, we aren’t reaching those stages yet, so it’s not too tough and we can endure it,” he said.
The brothers will start their doubles campaign today against Taiwan’s Chen Zhi-ray-Lin Yu-Chieh.
