Christo Popov
It will be a battle between brothers for the German Open badminton championships men’s singles crown.
The Popov brothers – Christo and Toma Junior, both overcame their semi-final rivals in contrasting styles to book their final encounter.
Sixth seeded Toma took 42-minutes to overcome eighth seed Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei 21-19 21-15.
It was not all that easy for his top ranked brother. Christo was taken the distance by India Open winner Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei. he fourth seed from Chinese Taipei nearly stole the match despite trailing 9-15 in the third. He caught up at 17 but top seed Christo was sharper at the end and came away victorious at 21-10 18-21 21-18 in a match that lasted 70-minutes.
When the brothers last met in a final, at the HYLO Open two years ago, it was Christo who triumphed/
“Tired and happy. Lin Chun-Yi played well today and there were just a few details at the end that made me win. There was high level play today and I’m happy to win and especially sharing the winning podium with my brother, we’ve been hoping for it. It’s going to be a good battle tomorrow, said Christo.
“It’s going to be a very strange match because we want to win, but we don’t want to win against a member of the family. I think it’s going to be very silent on court, just trying to focus on the game. I hope we deliver a great match for people to watch. I hope to win of course as a personal goal, but I think as a team it’s already a win.
“We’re not used to playing each other at tournaments, but we train together all the time, so it’s going to be a normal evening. We’re happy for each other and there’s less pressure.”
There was more good news for France as qualifiers Julien Maio-William Villeger’s dream run continued as they made their first final in over a year.
The duo defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi-Lin 21-17 21-18 and will take on China’s Chen Boyang-Liu Yi.
The women’s singles top seed Wang Zhiyi, who dismantled eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki 21-10 21-18 in her semi-finals will be up against teammate Han Qianxi, who received a walkover from Han Yue.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Toma Junior Popov (Fra) bt Chi Yu Jen (Tpe) 21-19, 21-15; Christo Popov (Fra) bt Lin Chun-yi (Tpe) 21-10, 18-21, 21-18
Men’s doubles: Julien Maio-William Villeger (Fra) bt Chiu Hsiang Chieh (Tpe) 21-17, 21-18; Chen Boyang-Liu Yi (Chn) bt Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang (Chn) 21-15, 21-12
Women’s singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-10, 21-18; Han Qian Xi (Chn) bt Han Yue (Chn) walkover
Women’s doubles: Li Yijing-Wang Yiduo (Chn) bt Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Ina) 21-18, 8-21, 21-19; Bao Lijing-Luo Xumin (Chn) bt Hsu Ya Ching-Sung Yu-hsuan (Tpe) 21-13, 21-11
Mixed doubles: Chen Xing-Zhang Chi Chn) bt Yang Po-Hsuan-Hu Ling Fang (Tpe) 22-20, 21-10; Mads Vestergaard-Christine Busch (Den) bt Terry Hee Yong Kai –Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (SGp-Ina) 21-19, 21-16
