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Popov adds to title wins from Greece and Latvia. Photo Credit: BadmintonPhoto
Popov makes it a hat-trick of titles in 2018
Date: 6/17/2018 1:43 PM
Published by : David Grice(BEC)

Toma Junior Popov make quite a breakthrough on finals day at the Spanish International in Madrid, after he ousted French number two Lucas Corvee 21-13, 21-17.

It has been quite a year for the 19-year old. However, this third title of the year could well be his most important. An impressive straight-sets win over his higher-ranked fellow Frenchman as well as a notable win over Russian number two Sergey Sirant in an earlier round, now has fans and pundits expecting Popov to compete with Europe’s best.

See also: Success for French teens in Jelgava

Elsewhere, Denmark’s Michelle Skodstrup made it a week to remember, as she was crowned women’s singles champion without dropping a set.It ended with a 21-11, 21-15 win over Thailand’s Supanida Katethong.

It has been a busy 2018 for the Danish teenager. Before this tournament, Skodstrup had already reached three finals, which included a title win in Sweden. With this week seeing the 19-year old three-wins over higher ranked opponents, this tournament could well have witnessed another major breakthrough.

See also: Skodstrup lands first senior title

The first match of the day saw Russian mixed doubles pair Evgenij Dremin and Evgenia Dimova play to their ranking, as the tournament’stop seeds made it title number three for the year, after a well fought 24-22,21-12 win over third seeded Danish pair Mikkel Mikkelsen and Mai Surrow.

Despite a strong comeback by Mikkelsen and Surrow in the first set, the higher-ranked Russians managed to edge the opening set, never look back and to another tournament to their list along with wins in Austria and Brazil earlier in the year.

The match of the session certainly went to the men’s doubles. Coming out on top ended up being Denmark’s Frederik Colberg and Joachim Fischer Nielsen, who managed to eventually topple Thai pair Bodin Isara and Maneepong Jongjit 21-23, 21-19, 21-15.

Life with a new playing partner Fischer Nielsen has Colberg already expecting a quick move up the ranking to join the rest of Denmark’s best. However, they needed to accomplish the hard way. The opening set saw the Danish pair be 15-7 down at one point. But after a few series of successivepoints won, Colberg and Fischer Nielsen pushed their opponents to the limit.But sadly for them, Isara and Jongjit snatched the set 23-21. Set number two ended up being quite a tussle, as both pairs exchanged the lead on multiple occasions.But once they saved a match point, the Danes took the set 21-19 and moved the encounter into a decider. That missed opportunity for the pair from Thailand was the closest they would ever get, as the third set was comfortably taken by Colberg and Fischer Nielsen 21-15.

Ending the day’s proceedings was a historic moment for French women’s doubles pair Delphine Delrue and Lea Palermo. Their dominant 21-6, 21-12 win over Ukraine’s Maryna Ilyinskaya and Yelyzaveta Zharka saw them secure their first title as a pair in what was their third final together.

For a full list of the complete draw and results, click here.


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