Christo Popov

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Christo Popov
Personal information
CountryFrance
Born (2002-03-08) 8 March 2002 (age 19)
Sofia, Bulgaria
ResidenceFos-sur-Mer, France
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
HandednessLeft
Men's singles & doubles
Career recordMS: 173 wins, 52 losses
MD: 60 wins, 38 losses
Highest ranking69 (MS 23 February 2021)
39 (MD with Toma Junior Popov 25 May 2021) (17 March 2020)
Current ranking71 (MS), 39 (MD with Toma Junior Popov) (25 May 2021)
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Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  France
European Men's Team Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Liévin Men's team
European Mixed Team Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 Vantaa Mixed team
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Kazan Boys' singles
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Mulhouse Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Tallinn Mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2020 Lahti Boys' singles
Silver medal – second place 2018 Tallinn Boys' singles
Silver medal – second place 2020 Lahti Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Lahti Mixed doubles
BWF profile

Christo Popov (born 8 March 2002) is a French badminton player who affiliate with Fos club. He was the boys' doubles European U15 and U17 Junior Champions, also won the boys' singles silver medals at the 2018 European and 2019 World Junior Championships.[1] He reached a career high as boys' singles World Junior number 1 in January 2020.[2] He then clinched the boys' singles title at the 2020 European Junior Championships.

Personal life[]

Christo Popov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He comes from a family featuring other professional badminton players. His father, Thomas, played for and coached the Bulgarian national team; his mother, Tzvetonira, was a national badminton referee; and his older brother, Toma Junior Popov, was a 2017 European Junior Champion.[1]

Career[]

Christo Popov started playing badminton at the age of 5.[3] He won the European U15 and U17 Junior Champions in the boys' doubles event with Kenji Lovang in 2016 and 2017 respectively, also finished as boys' singles U15 runner-up in 2016.[4][5] He later won the boys' singles silver medals at the 2018 European and 2019 World Junior Championships.[6] He managed to win the 2017 Italian Junior International, Danish Junior Cup, also 2018 and 2019 Hungarian Junior International.[1]

At the age of 16, he already won the senior international tournament at the 2018 Bulgarian Open in the men's doubles event with his brother Toma Junior Popov.[7] Christo Popov topped the boys' singles World Junior Ranking in 7 January 2020.[8] He won the men's singles in the 2020 French national championships and in doing so became the youngest ever winner of the competition [9] At the 2020 European Men's and Women's Team Badminton Championships he won the bronze medal with the French national team. In March 2020, he claimed his first BWF Junior International Grand Prix title by winning the Dutch Junior tournament.[10] At the 2020 European Junior Championships in Lahti, Finland, Popov claimed three medals, winning a gold in the boys' singles, a silver in the team, and a bronze in the mixed doubles events.[11]

In 2021, Popov opened the season by participating at the European Mixed Team Championships together with the French national team. The team finished as the finalist and won the silver medal.[12] In May, he received the BEC Young Player of the Year and European Fan Player of the Yeat by the Badminton Europe.[13] At the 2021 Spain Masters, he finished as the men's doubles semi finalists.[14]

Achievements[]

BWF World Junior Championships[]

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2019 Kazan Gymnastics Center, Kazan, Russia Thailand Kunlavut Vitidsarn 8–21, 11–21 Silver Silver

European Junior Championships[]

Boys' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2018 Kalev Sports Hall, Tallinn, Estonia France Arnaud Merklé 7–21, 14–21 Silver Silver
2020 Pajulahti Sports Institute, Lahti, Finland France 21–9, 21–18 Gold Gold

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2020 Pajulahti Sports Institute, Lahti, Finland France Sweden
Sweden 		18–21, 21–13, 15–21 Bronze Bronze

BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles, 1 runner-up)[]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2019 Italian International India Subhankar Dey 21–16, 22–20 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner

Men's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2018 Bulgarian Open France Toma Junior Popov Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei 		17–21, 21–7, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Italian International France Toma Junior Popov Germany
Germany 		18–21, 16–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

BWF Junior International (5 titles, 4 runners-up)[]

Boys' singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2017 Hungarian Junior International Czech Republic 10–12, 11–6, 11–4, 11–13, 10–12 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2017 Italian Junior International Belgium 21–15, 21–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2017 Romanian Junior International France Arnaud Merklé 14–21, 10–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2017 Danish Junior Cup Denmark 21–16, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2018 Hungarian Junior International France Arnaud Merklé 21–18, 10–21, 21–7 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2018 Spanish Junior International France Arnaud Merklé 21–16, 9–21, 13–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2019 Hungarian Junior International Denmark 21–9, 18–21, 21–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
2019 Jakarta Junior International Indonesia 14–21, 17–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up
2020 Dutch Junior International South Korea 21–14, 21–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner
  BWF Junior International Grand Prix tournament
  BWF Junior International Challenge tournament
  BWF Junior International Series tournament
  BWF Junior Future Series tournament

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Badminton Europe Magazine: Christo Popov". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Christo Popov numéro 1 mondial". www.ffbad.org (in French). 8 January 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Christo Popov". team-popov.com (in French). Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  4. ^ Phelan, Mark (1 March 2016). "Broad dispersal of medals in Kazan". badmintoneurope.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Badminton-Europe : Christo Popov en or en double, à Prague". www.laprovence.com (in French). 29 November 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  6. ^ Raftery, Alan (25 November 2019). "Christo Popov: the hard work begins now". badmintoneurope.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  7. ^ Lollike, Emma (17 August 2018). "Siblings succeed in Sofia". badmintoneurope.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Badminton : Christo Popov, l'as du volant". www.leparisien.fr (in French). 1 February 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  9. ^ Sachetat, Raphaël (2 February 2020). "FRENCH NATIONALS – Popov enters history again". Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. ^ Castela, Benoit (1 March 2020). "DUTCH JUNIOR 2020 : Christo Popov, numéro un mondial qui assume !" (in French). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. ^ Jiwani, Rory (8 November 2020). "Things we learnt as Popov and Shapovalova take European junior singles crowns". www.olympicchannel.com. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  12. ^ "EMTC 21 : Les Bleus, vice-champions d'Europe". www.ffbad.org (in French). 20 February 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Christo POPOV récompensé par Badminton Europe". www.ffbad.org (in French). 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  14. ^ Raftery, Alan (22 May 2021). "Will it be 11 out of 11 for Popov?". www.badmintoneurope.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.

External links[]

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