Popov becomes first French player to reach title match in World Tour Finals

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Badminton - BWF World Championships - Adidas Arena, Paris, France - August 30, 2025 South Koreas An Se Young in action during her womens singles semifinal against Chinas Yu Fei Chen REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

Dec 20 - Christo Popov became the first French player to reach the title match at the World Tour Finals where he faces world champion Shi Yuqi on Sunday, while Paris Olympics gold medallist An Se-young set up a womens showpiece clash with holder Wang Zhiyi.

Popov, making his tournament debut as a singles player, overwhelmed Japans Kodai Naraoka with his speed and power to win 21-19 21-8 in the semi-finals in Hangzhou on Saturday.

The first game was very important, being very long and winning that made me confident for the second game, and I got more aggressive, Popov said.

“One thought was getting out of the group stage, which would be a huge thing for me. Now I’m into the final, so Im happy.

Popov is trying to become the third European to clinch the mens singles title after Danes Anders Antonsen and Viktor Axelsen, with the latter winning a record three times.

Chinas Shi, who is looking to equal Axelsen with a third straight World Tour Finals title, beat Thai world number one Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-16 21-13 in the second semi-final.

In the womens semis, South Korean An took just 38 minutes to beat Japans Akane Yamaguchi 21-15 21-12.

Bidding for a second title at the