HUELVA, SPAIN – A once-in-a-generation badminton showdown is set to take center stage at the 2024 European Badminton Championships after siblings Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov both secured quarterfinal wins on Friday, earning a spot against one another in the event’s semifinal round.
Born in Bulgaria, the athletic pair now competes under the French national flag. Beyond their historic singles meeting this weekend, the brothers are also defending their European men’s doubles title at the tournament. They most recently paired up to represent France at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, carrying on a family legacy rooted in badminton: their father, Toma Popov, is a former badminton competitor who played and coached for the Bulgarian national team before the family relocated to France.
At 24 years old, left-handed Christo is the younger sibling by three years, compared to 27-year-old right-handed Toma Junior. Entering this semifinal match, Christo holds a 3-1 advantage over his brother in main-tour head-to-head matchups, including two final victories in recent months. Most recently, Christo claimed the title over Toma Junior at the 2024 German Open held in Munich, and prior to that, he also won the Hylo Open in Saarbrücken, Germany against his brother in the final match.
Both brothers delivered dominant performances in Friday’s quarterfinal rounds to advance to the semifinal. Christo, who ranks 5th in the world badminton rankings, fought off a tough challenge from Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke to win 25-23 in the opening set before closing out the match with a 21-15 second-set win. Meanwhile, world No. 16 Toma Junior secured an even more decisive victory over Belgium’s Julien Carraggi, wrapping up the win 21-8, 21-11 to punch his ticket to the semifinal.
If the Popov brothers continue their winning streaks through the semifinal round, Sunday’s men’s singles final could end up as an all-French matchup. The other semi-final on Saturday pits France’s Arnaud Merklé against two-time European champion Anders Antonsen of Denmark, setting the stage for an exciting weekend of elite badminton competition.