Indonesia Open: ‘Very Sad to Play My Brother’
Of course it was going to be a complicated situation for both Toma Junior Popov and his younger brother Christo as they faced off in the first round of KAPAL API Indonesia Open 2025.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Both have been in excellent form; Toma Junior was runner-up at the European Championships and a quarterfinalist at the Malaysia Masters; Christo, ranked three places below him at No.20, was in the Swiss Open final and in two semifinals, including last week’s Singapore Open.
Toma Junior looked set to take the opening game with a 19-16 lead but blew it, and from there he frequently shook his head as Christo gained on him. With both keeping their emotions in check, they appeared somewhat constrained and the older brother looked miffed with himself long after the match was over. Christo acknowledged it was a difficult problem to deal with.
“It's the worst ... I just can’t describe the feeling,” said Christo. “We wish to never play against each other, but of course, if we are both at the top level, then it's true at some point we should encounter each other. Of course I'm happy to go to the second round but at the same time, I'm very sad for my brother. It means one of the brothers goes forward and the other is losing first round, which is very frustrating for us.