Christo Popov’s Everest Ascent for France
France’s biggest-ever moment arrived with Christo Popov ascending the summit at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2025, toppling world champion Shi Yu Qi in an anti-climactic final.
· DEV SUKUMAR
No French player has won a tournament of this level, with the achievement topping Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue’s Indonesia Open victory earlier this year and Alex Lanier’s Japan Open triumph from 2024.
For Popov, whose previous best was at the World Tour Super 300 level, the World Tour Finals title was a dream debut campaign among the world’s top eight. That he won the title with an all-win record in five matches confirmed that he has now taken his spot at the top table.
The opening game of the final was tightly contested, but once it was in Popov’s bag, Shi’s level dropped dramatically. After the midgame interval in the second Popov ran away with the match, with Shi -- who appeared to be hampered by an injury -- struggling to keep up.