Christo Popov has made history at the BWF Tour Finals in Hangzhoui, being the first French player ever to qualify for the the title-deciding match.
He was in imperious form to defeat Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 21-19, 21-8 in the semi-finals and also has the distinction of being the only European player left in the competition.
He will face World No. Shi Yu Qi in the final, after the Chinese player made short-work of Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsaran 21-16, 21-13in his semi-final tie.
Popov, the world No. 8 edged a tightly contested opening game, with the score locked at 9-9 before gradually asserting control.
The second game proved one-sided, as Popov dominated proceedings, closing out the match at the against the world No. 9 Naraoka.
The victory sends Popov into his third final of the season, following runner-up finishes at the Swiss Openand the French Open.
“One thought was getting out of the group stage, which would be a huge thing for me,” Popov said after the win.
“Now I’m into the final, so am happy. But also I had a long period without competing, and that was a good thing for me to come this week to play against the top players during one week and also challenge ourselves to see where we are, and to prepare for the next season.”
In the women’s singles, Olympic champion An Se Young of Korea continued her dominant 2025 season by booking her place in yet another final. She defeated Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi for the second time in two day to set-up the title clash with China’s Wang Zhiyi.
Se Young controlled the contest, winning 21-15, 21-12 to reach a record-extending 12th World Tour final of the season. Should she win tomorrow, it would equal Kenta Momota’s record 11 Tour titles in a season.
She will face world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, who advanced to the final after overcoming Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 15-21, 21-17, 21-11 in the other semi-final.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Christo Popov (Fra) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 21-19, 21-8; Shi Yu Qi (Chn) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 21-16, 21-13
Men’s doubles: Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae (Kor) bt Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani (Ina) 21-9, 21-11; Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Ind) 10-21, 21-17, 21-13
Women’s singles: An Se Young (Kor) bt Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) 21-15, 21-12; Wang Zhi Yu (Chn) bt Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) 15-21, 21-17, 21-11
Women’s doubles: Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan (Mas) 21-19, 21-13; Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee (Kor) bt Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning (Chn) 15-21, 21-16, 21-19
Mixed doubles: Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping (Chn) bt Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito (Jpn) 22-20, 17-21, 21-9; Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin (Chn) bt Chen Tang JIe-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) 9-21, 21-11, 21-17
