On Tuesday, the qualification round of the Dutch Open got underway. Thereby, the 16-year-old talent player from France, Christo Popov, lost his qualification match in men’s singles.
Day One in Almere was the beginning of the YONEX Dutch Open 2018. Men’s and women’s singles players competed in qualification matches, as well as in the first round of the tournament.
Thereby, one man was responsible for a little surprise: Valeriy Atrashchenkov. The Ukrainian player won against Christo Popov, the rising star player of France, after an intense match with 18-21, 21-19 and 21-17. The match lasted one hour in total.
In September, Christo Popov recently reached the final of the European Junior Championship in men’s singles in Tallinn.
The Popov double
Whereas Atrashchenkov is playing his next match at the Dutch Open against Jacob Nilsson from Sweden at 7.20 PM (CET), Christo Popov was not able to reach the first round of the tournament, at least not in men’s singles.
But the 16-year-old gets one more chance in Almere: He is playing in men’s doubles with his four years older brother, Toma Junior Popov, who is very ambitious regarding his participation in the Netherlands:
- I expect to reach as many rounds as possible in Almere. And who knows, maybe I might also win.
The French double has good chances in Almere: In August, the brothers won the Eurasia Bulgarian Open Championship in men’s doubles.
Remember, you can also read the latest news from the Dutch Open in the ‘Badminton Live’ app.
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