Latest news with #TomaJuniorPopov
The Sun
15-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
France's new star Lanier ready for home pressure at badminton worlds
RISING French badminton star Alex Lanier admits he will be under pressure at next month's world championships in front of his home fans, but vowed Tuesday to 'stay in my own zone' away from distractions. The 20-year-old has rocketed to number eight in the world after a breakthrough year that has seen him win the Japan Open and be crowned European champion. He is aiming for more success when the world championships begin in Paris on August 25, at the venue where the Olympic badminton tournament was held last year. Lanier admits he is 'not an underdog any more' and will play with a target on his back in Paris. 'There is a bit of pressure but I am also taking it as a moment that I can share with family and friends,' he said in Tokyo on Tuesday, where he began his Japan Open title defence with a 21-12, 21-14 win over Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao. 'I want to get the maximum I can and play the best I can, to share this moment with everyone,' he said. 'It's also interesting, this kind of condition that there are a lot of people around, a lot of distractions -- I will need to stay in my own zone.' Lanier did not play at the 2024 Olympics, but he announced himself on the world stage just a couple of weeks later by winning the Japan Open. He beat China's then world number one Shi Yuqi and Malaysia's Paris Games bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia on the way to lifting his first major senior title. - Golden French generation - His rise gathered pace when he won the European Championships in April with a victory over fellow Frenchman Toma Junior Popov in the final. Lanier said he had improved 'mentally and physically, but also technically' as he targets more Tokyo glory this week. 'I think I'm not an underdog any more -- I'm definitely ready to play well and to get this title,' he said. 'There is definitely more pressure than last year, to be honest, but I think I'm quite good at controlling this kind of thing.' French badminton is currently riding high, with Lanier, Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov all ranked in the men's singles top 20. Lanier says talk of a golden generation is premature but he believes French badminton is 'improving in all areas'. 'Our staff is more professional, there is better structure and the young players are more professional earlier than what we were before,' he said. 'So I feel that yes we are performing, but also we are showing the young generation in France.' French fans gave Olympic badminton a warm welcome at the Paris Games, with large crowds and enthusiastic support at the La Chapelle Arena. Lanier believes 'it's going to be huge again' at the world championships, and he is looking forward to experiencing it for himself. 'I think the fans enjoyed last year and I think they are expecting the same thing, and that's why they're coming,' he said. 'They know that it's going to be a fantastic event.' – AFP
New Straits Times
15-07-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
France's new star Lanier ready for home pressure at badminton worlds
TOKYO: Rising French badminton star Alex Lanier admits he will be under pressure at next month's world championships in front of his home fans, but vowed today to "stay in my own zone" away from distractions. The 20-year-old has rocketed to number eight in the world after a breakthrough year that has seen him win the Japan Open and be crowned European champion. He is aiming for more success when the world championships begin in Paris on August 25, at the venue where the Olympic badminton tournament was held last year. Lanier admits he is "not an underdog any more" and will play with a target on his back in Paris. "There is a bit of pressure but I am also taking it as a moment that I can share with family and friends," he said in Tokyo today, where he began his Japan Open title defence with a 21-12, 21-14 win over Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao. "I want to get the maximum I can and play the best I can, to share this moment with everyone," he said. "It's also interesting, this kind of condition that there are a lot of people around, a lot of distractions -- I will need to stay in my own zone." Lanier did not play at the 2024 Olympics, but he announced himself on the world stage just a couple of weeks later by winning the Japan Open. He beat China's then world number one Shi Yuqi and Malaysia's Paris Games bronze medallist Lee Zii Jia on the way to lifting his first major senior title. His rise gathered pace when he won the European Championships in April with a victory over fellow Frenchman Toma Junior Popov in the final. Lanier said he had improved "mentally and physically, but also technically" as he targets more Tokyo glory this week. "I think I'm not an underdog any more -- I'm definitely ready to play well and to get this title," he said. "There is definitely more pressure than last year, to be honest, but I think I'm quite good at controlling this kind of thing." French badminton is currently riding high, with Lanier, Toma Junior Popov and Christo Popov all ranked in the men's singles top 20. Lanier says talk of a golden generation is premature but he believes French badminton is "improving in all areas". "Our staff is more professional, there is better structure and the young players are more professional earlier than what we were before," he said. "So I feel that yes we are performing, but also we are showing the young generation in France." French fans gave Olympic badminton a warm welcome at the Paris Games, with large crowds and enthusiastic support at the La Chapelle Arena. Lanier believes "it's going to be huge again" at the world championships, and he is looking forward to experiencing it for himself. "I think the fans enjoyed last year and I think they are expecting the same thing, and that's why they're coming," he said. "They know that it's going to be a fantastic event."
CNA
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Loh Kean Yew through to Singapore Open quarters, Yeo Jia Min falls to world number 1
SINGAPORE: There were contrasting fortunes for Singapore's top badminton players on Thursday (May 29) as Loh Kean Yew booked his spot in the Singapore Open men's singles quarterfinals, while Yeo Jia Min exited the tournament in the round of 16. At the Singapore Indoor Stadium, world number 10 Loh mounted a sensational comeback late on to beat France's Toma Junior Popov 21-12, 14-21, 21-18 in 65 minutes. "I was pretty lucky at the end. I don't know what I did, but at that point of time, I just did what I did to try to win every point," said Loh. "It was hard to control the draught today, the wind condition, the shuttle, and he was playing very well. So it was hard to play against him just now." The win means that Loh has now triumphed over the world number 16 in all six of their meetings. The 27-year-old looked sharp in the first game as he stormed to a 9-1 lead while his opponent struggled with errors and the drift. But the Frenchman was in control for much of the second and pushed the tie to a decider. The match looked to have slipped out of the hands of the Singaporean as Popov built up a 16-11 lead to silence the home crowd. "It was just fighting spirit. The crowd boosted (me) a lot, and I think it also affected him a little bit, especially at the end where they kept chanting my name," said Loh. But Loh showed remarkable character as he dragged himself back from the brink, celebrating the win with a knee slide and pumped fists. Loh will face his third consecutive French opponent – Popov's younger brother Christo – in the quarter-finals on Friday. The former world champion has a 3-2 head-to-head record against the 23-year-old. Yeo, however, was not able to pull off an upset against world number 1 and defending champion An Se-young. The 23-year-old, who won four consecutive Badminton World Federation Tour titles prior to the tournament in Singapore, took the match 21-14, 21-13 in 41 minutes. World number 11 Yeo kept pace with the reigning women's singles Olympic and world champion early on in the first game, before the South Korean pulled away. But with An shifting into a higher gear in the second, Yeo went into the interval 6-11 behind and could not peg the top seed back. "She was able to be quite quick on her feet, and her shots were pressuring me quite a bit," said Yeo. "Throughout the match, I just on and off played many unforced errors which very quickly widened the gap. That gave me more pressure, because she barely made any mistakes." Yeo saw off world number 12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-14, 21-13 in the round of 32 on Tuesday.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Kidambi Srikanth enters Malaysia Masters quarterfinal
Seasoned Indian badminton player Kidambi Srikanth entered the quarterfinals of Malaysia Masters after defeating Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in his second-round match in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday (May 22, 2025). Srikanth prevailed 23-21, 21-17 in the 59-minute showdown against world number 33 Nguyen. Srikanth, whose world ranking has plummeted to 65 owing to a prolonged lean patch, will face France's Toma Junior Popov in the last-eight stage. Toma Junior Popov ousted another Indian, Ayush Shetty, with a 21-13, 21-17 triumph in his second round match. Also bowing out was Sathish Karunakaran. He was beaten 14-21, 16-21 by Toma Junior Popov's brother and doubles partner Christo Popov. In the doubles competition, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the quarterfinals of the mixed event with a 21-17, 18-21, 21-15 victory over France's Lea Palermo and Julien Maio. They will next be up against the Chinese combination of Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.
New Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Popov brothers, Lanier leading the French badminton revolution
KUALA LUMPUR: France have never really been known as a badminton powerhouse. But that may soon change, and Toma Junior Popov is part of the reason why. The world No. 18 made a strong start at the Malaysia Masters on Tuesday, beating China's world No. 32 Wang Zheng Xing 21-17, 21-8. It was also his first-ever win at the tournament in since his debut in 2023. "I'm happy with the way I started. It's good to be back after the European tour and four weeks of training," said Toma, who made it to the quarter-finals of Malaysia Open in his last visit to Kuala Lumpur earlier in January. The 25-year-old also feels his form is on an upward trend. "I'd say I'm better than last year. I had a good run in Europe — maybe could've done a bit more at the All England, but overall I'm happy. Even when I wasn't at my best, I still made the final at the European Championships and won the men's doubles," he said. Toma, along with his younger brother Christo and 20-year-old Alex Lanier — one of the most exciting young players on the circuit — are putting French badminton on the world map. France are now the second-ranked team in Europe behind Denmark, and for good reason. The Popov brothers are strong in both singles and men's doubles, while Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue are a consistent top pair in mixed doubles. Toma is one of the few players in the world who juggles singles and doubles at the highest level, and he plans to continue doing both. "For now, yes, I'll be playing both events regularly — that's the plan moving forward." So what has changed in French badminton? "Things are more structured now. The clubs, federation, academies and national centres are working together better," said Toma. "There are also more good coaches coming in and more young players showing promise. It's exciting." Toma says there's also been a big improvement in junior development, with more young French shuttlers doing well in Europe every year. But the real challenge is exposure. "In France, badminton doesn't get shown on TV much. It's mostly football, handball, rugby. But if we win medals and stay in the spotlight, I believe more people will follow the sport," he said. That's why the World Championships in Paris later this year is a big deal. Toma will be playing both events. "My goal is simple — a medal, any colour," he said with a smile.
