There has been a lot written about the big potential of the French youth coming through at the moment, but are we sleeping on the emerging young Russian resurgence?

At the last two European U17 Championships, Russia took home nine medals spanning all five categories. This is only second to the European powerhouse Denmark with 10. Georgij Karpov won the gold in 2017, defeating the much talked about prospect of Magnus Johannesen in the final. Karpov discusses what he puts this Russian success down to?

- The noticeable growth of Russian badminton players’ achievements I associate with the enthusiasm of the athletes and their coaches. Also, it is important that there are numbers of youth tournaments and it allows young athletes to show their talent.

Still just 18, Karpov is playing on the senior circuit in both singles and doubles, rising to a ranking of 146 in singles and 163 in men’s doubles. Breaking into the top 100 is certainly a target for the young man, but what are his expectations for Paris 2024? 

- Without a doubt, the Olympic Games - 2024 in Paris is the top-priority on my goals list. Every day I work hard and do my best and improve myself and achieve better results.

Read: Georgij Karpov: Jørgensen is one of my favourite players

The biggest dream of mine

Last year at the World Junior Championships in Kazan, Russia, Karpov was unfortunate not to go deep into the draw in front of the home support. He lost narrowly in the second round in three games, 22-20, 20-22, 15-21, to China’s Dong Tian Yao, who went onto the fifth round. 

A year previously, Karpov narrowly missed out on a medal at the European Junior Championships when losing in the quarterfinals to Germany’s Lukas Resch, two years his senior, 21-18 in the deciding game. Karpov seems to be ticking off these key milestone experiences at a younger age than normal. Talking about his chances of winning a medal at the European Championships in the future, he points out that. 

- My older teammates have already won the European Championships and I will try to follow their example making Russian badminton better.

Lastly, parking the World Championships and the Olympics to one side, what are the major tournaments that the young Russian talent would like to win? 

- One tournament that I would like to win is the All England. However, the biggest dream of mine is the Olympic medal for sure.