French Badminton

The list of players who will participate to the Mixed Team European Championships has been revealed Monday by the French Federation. Whereas the Nationals take place this week, the French staff made strong choices concerning the men’s team.


Indeed, Thomas Rouxel and Lucas Corvée, respectively 59th and 60th on the world ranking, have been removed, Toma Jr Popov, Arnaud Merklé and Christo Popov, the three youngsters, being preferred. If Thomas Rouxel might have physical problems – he won’t compete at the Nationals, where he was supposed to play againt Toma Jr Popov in last 8 – it seemed that the French Federation has decided to move forward with its young talented players. Brice Leverdez, 33 y.o, and Lucas Claerbout, 27, are still in the group.


The Nationals will be very interesting to follow this year. Brice Leverdez, who plays the PBL in India, won’t win for a tenth time, and Thomas Rouxel, as said before, is missing too. At the upper half of the draw, it’s Christo Popov, 17 y.o. only, the first seed. He’s supposed to meet Lucas Corvée, the two-time winner (2016, 2017), in last 8, while Lucas Claerbout (2018 winner) might meet him in semi-finals. At the lower half of the draw, Arnaud Merklé and Toma Junior Popov could meet each other for a place in the final.


First seed of the women’s singles draw, Qi Xuefei will take part for the first time to the competition. 39th at the BWF ranking, QX got the French nationality last year, while winning 3 titles on the continental tour. Quarter finalist at the last Thailand Masters, she is the huge favorite to win the title. Marie Batomené, the defending champion, could meet her in the final. Thom Gicquel, in mixed doubles with Delphine Delrue and in men’s doubles with Ronan Labar, is in good position to win two titles.

 

The Nationals ended yesterday, here’s the recap of what happened :

Men’s singles

17 y.o. Christo Popov became the youngest French champion yesterday, beating Arnaud Merklé in the final. The WJC silver medalist had a tough quarter final, against Lucas Corvée (18-21, 21-18, 21-15), and also a tricky semi-final against Lucas Claerbout (21-17, 7-21, 22-20). Merklé, who beat Christo’s brother – Toma - in semi-final (21-18, 21-11) couldn’t do the same against Christo, despite winning the second game in a 1h04’ hard-fought battle (21-14, 17-21, 21-15).

World n°1 in the Junior rankings, Christo Popov showed once again that he was the most talented of the European young generation. If he managed to handle the expectations, he could become the next European and World Junior champion, and his appearences on the senior circuit will be more and more scrutinized.

Women’s singles

As expected, Qi Xuefei won a first national title. The world ranked 39 only needed three easy wins to catch her first title. Marie Batomené, who won her semi-final Saturday evening, decided to withdraw from the final, letting QX win the title without playing.

Men’s doubles

Best known for his performances in mixed doubles, Thom Gicquel won the men’s doubles with his partner Ronan Labar. Winners of the 2018 Czech Open Int’l Challenge, the didn’t concede a single game during the competition.

Women’s doubles

With the absence of Emilie Lefel - who had an Achilles tendon rupture at the end of the year – and Léa Palermo, the best two pairs – Lefel/Tran and Delrue/Palermo – were not able to compete this year. Finalists of the recent 2020 Estonian Int’l Challenge and 2020 Swedish Open, Margot Lambert and Vimala Heriau, 68th at the WR, seized the opportunity to win their first national title together.

Mixed doubles

Semi finalists of the last Indonesian Masters, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue won their third consecutive title on the national scene. Same storyline than in men’s double for Thom Gicquel, as the world ranked 17 didn’t drop a single game during the competition, beating seeded n°2 Labar/Tran in the final (21-19, 21-17).

 

Men's team and women's team that will be up in Liévin next week for the European Men's & Women's Team Championships.

Men's team : [first row from left to right] Thom Gicquel, Ronan Labar, Toma Junior Popov, William Villeger
[second row from left to right] Lucas Claerbout, Arnaud Merkle, Eloi Adam, Samy Corvée, Julien Maio and Christo Popov.
Brice Leverdez, who's playing the PBL, will join them next week.

Women's team : [first row from left to right] Léa Palermo, Vimala Heriau, Sharone Bauer, Yaëlle Hoyaux, Margot Lambert
[second row from left to right] Ophélia Casier, Delphine Delrue, Juliette Moinard, Qi Xuefei, Anne Tran and Marie Batomène.