Mülheim: French shuttler Christo Popov clinches his first ever BWF World Tour title at the German Open on Sunday. The men’s singles final on Sunday was contested by two European players, with the 8th-seeded Christo Popov of France defeating Denmark’s unseeded Rasmus Gemke with scores of 21-17, 21-16, marking his first-ever title in the BWF World Tour tournament.
Highlights of Christo Popov vs. Rasmus Gemke in the German Open final:
This marked their second encounter, with Gemke having won in the 2024 2024 European Men’s & Women’s Team Championships final with scores of 14-21, 22-20, and 21-9. Christo Popov, who will celebrate his 22nd birthday on the 8th of this month, avenged that loss with this victory on Sunday.
In the women’s singles category, the championship went to Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt, who secured a straight-set victory of 21-11, 21-9 against Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh.
The men’s doubles final saw an intense fight between Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan and China’s He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu.
Highlights of Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan vs. He Ji Ting/Ren Xiang Yu in the German Open final:
Ranked 16th in the world, Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan won the 2023 Korea Masters, marking their best performance since partnering.
Throughout the German Open this week, Lee Jhe-Huei/Yang Po-Hsuan displayed impressive form, reaching the final without dropping a single game. In the final, Lee/Yang took an early lead four times but couldn’t withstand the opponent’s counterattacks, conceding the first game with a score of 15-21. However, they showed resilience in the second game, to win at 23-21.
The deciding game saw the Chinese pair taking a lead of 12-9, but Lee/Yang refused to give up, and made a comeback with consecutive points. The match remained tightly contested, and at 18-18, Lee and Yang disrupted their opponents’ serve rhythm, gaining crucial points. Despite the Chinese pair equalizing twice, in the end, Lee and Yang capitalized on a net error from the opponents, securing the victory with a score of 23-21.
Following China’s defeat in the men’s doubles, they found success in the women’s doubles. The young pair Li Yijing/Luo Xumin, after a hard-fought battle lasting 62 minutes, triumphed over Bulgaria’s Stoeva sisters with scores of 21-7, 13-21, 21-18, securing their first title of the year. Li and Luo had reached the finals in the previous Thailand Masters but finished as runners-up.
The mixed doubles title was claimed by the Hong Kong pair Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, who defeated South Korea’s Kim Won Ho/Jeong Na Eun with scores of 21-13, 21-19, securing their first title of the year.
