All England: Defending Champ Falters in Opening Test
There was one way Toma Junior Popov could outdo his younger brother Christo’s tenacious morning win against Lee Cheuk Yiu in the opening session of the YONEX All England. That was by taking down Li Shi Feng,…
· DEV SUKUMAR
There was one way Toma Junior Popov could outdo his younger brother Christo’s tenacious morning win against Lee Cheuk Yiu in the opening session of the YONEX All England. That was by taking down Li Shi Feng, defending champion and world No.4.
Which is what he proceeded to do, keeping things tight and closing it out efficiently before the third seed could stage a comeback. The 21-17 21-13 was interestingly his third win against Li Shi Feng and completed a great morning session for the Popovs.
“Very happy because I was struggling these last few weeks with some injuries, some back problems and other physical problems,” said Toma Junior. “So I’m happy to be back, really happy that it’s happening at the All England. It’s one of my favourite tournaments and it’s the first time I’m going into the second round in men’s singles. It’s a great achievement for the moment.”