Alex Lanier
It will be an all-French affair in the men’s singles final at the Orleans Masters badminton championships.
Second seeded Alex Lanier and fourth seed Toma Junior Popov, both dispatched outsiders Yudai Okimoto of Japan and China’s Hui Zhean repectively in the semi-finals.
Twenty-one-year-old Lanier, is on course to defend his Orleans Masters title after a clinical 21-14, 21-12 win over Okimoto. He is also seeking his first major title on the BWF Tour since Orleans.
Popov is also hoping to make history at the championships, seeking a third Orleans Masters crown. The 27-year-old, who was beaten by sibling Christo at the German Open earlier this year, had won in Orleans in 2021 and in 2022.
Both his wins were at a time when the Orleasn Masters was a Super 100 before it was upgraded to Super 300. His win over India’s Mithun Manunath in the 2022 final was also his last victory in the Tour.
In the semi-finals last night, Popov dashed the hopes of Zhean, the former world junior champion, 21-16, 21-14.
Popov and Lanier have met three times in their career with the latter holding a 2-1 advantage. However, it was Popov, who won when the duo last met at the China Open last year.
Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for both Indian shuttlers in the women’s singles competition.
Upstarts Tanvi Sharma and Isharani Baruah were both beaten in the semi-finals.
Thirty-one-year-old veteran Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, the 2017 world champion, packed enough firepower to beat Tanvi 21-9, 21-16 in her semi-final tie.
She will take on Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh in the final. Pitchamon, who was beaten in the Indonesia Masters final by China’s Chen Yufei earlier this year, overcame a strong fightback from Isharani before prevailing 21-12, 23-21.
It will only be the second meeting between the duo, with Okuhara beating Pitchamon in three games when the last met at the Kumamoto Masters Japan last year.
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Yudai Okimoto (Jpn) 21-14, 21-12; Toma Junior Popov (Fra) bt Hu Zhean (Chn) 21-16, 21-14
Men’s doubles: Hu Keyuan-Lin Xiangyi (Chn) bt Leo Rolly Carnando-Bagas Maulana (Ina) 21-19, 21-10; Hiroki Okamura-Kyohei Yamashita (Jpn) bt Christian Faust Kjaer-Rasmus Kjaer (Den) 21-18, 21-19
Women’s singles: Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt Tanvi Sharma (Ind) 21-9, 21-16; Pitchamon Opatniputh (Tha) bt Isharani Baruah (Ind) 21-12, 23-21
Women’s doubles: Sumire Nakade-Miyu Takahashi (Jpn) bt Rachel Allessya Rose-Febi Setianingrum (Ina) 21-10, 22-20; Lin Chih-Chun-Yang Chu Yun (Tpe) bt Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 17-21, 21-19, 21-18
Mixed doubles: Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Liu Kuang Heng-Jheng Yu Chieh (Tpe) 18-21, 21-18, 21-16; Mathias Christiansen-Alexandre Boje (Den) bt Ruben Garcia-Lucia Rodriguez (Esp) 21-18, 14-21, 21-14
