The French achieved a near-perfect performance to outclass the Danish Anders Antonsen, ranked 3rd in the world, in the final (21-12, 21-19).
The European men’s singles throne remains an achievement of French badminton. Indeed, a year after Alex Lanier’s success in the final against Toma Junior Popov, it was Christo Popov’s turn this Sunday to win the gold and confirm his new status as the 5th best player in the world. A victory for the 24-year-old Fosseen is all the more beautiful as it was achieved against the favorite of the competition, the Danish Anders Antonsen, the 3rd world player, with style as a bonus.
The last time these two badminton players faced each other, the Frenchman emerged victorious (21-13, 12-21, 21-19) at the BWF World Tour Finals, the equivalent of the tennis Masters played at the end of last year, where the younger Popov was crowned. This Sunday, in the first European final of his career, Christo Popov was not overwhelmed by stress. Just like a perfect start to the match on his part. Taking advantage of his opponent’s numerous mistakes, the Frenchman firmly took control of the game to lead 6-1. A lead at the start that the Dane would never manage to erase against a very solid Frenchman in the exchange and author of a solo performance in the first set (21-12).
The hope of seeing the same scenario repeat itself in the second set held until 5-2 in favor of Popov. But Antonsen finally managed to find openings in the French wall to level the score (9-9). The response from Fosséen was swift, in the form of a 4-0 that gave him a good lead on the scoreboard (13-9). Condemned to a perpetual catch-up game, the Scandinavian did not give up to equalize at 16-16. Popov then had the immense merit of not letting his rival take the lead. And at 18-18, not without some luck which, as known, always favors the bold, the French number 1 won two consecutive points (20-18), before concluding on his second match point (21-19). A very fine performance that allows him to establish himself at the top of European badminton.
