Source:Oriental Image/Jiang Xu
[Saba Sports News] In a focal men’s singles Round of 16 match at the 2025 BWF World Championships, Shi Yuqi faced French local player Christo Popov. After a grueling three-game battle, Shi Yuqi reversed the match to win 2-1. Popov’s behavior at the final moment was slightly baffling. In the third and deciding game, Shi Yuqi made several errors early on, trailing Popov 5-11. Fortunately, Shi Yuqi intensified his attacks after the interval, scoring 5 consecutive points to narrow the gap to 10-11. After reaching 18-18, Shi Yuqi scored 2 points in a row, taking a 20-18 lead. Next, it was still Shi Yuqi’s serve. He had match point. At this moment, Popov started his antics. Just as Shi Yuqi was preparing to serve, Popov suddenly called for the line judge to wipe the floor, indicating there was water on the court. After the staff wiped the area as requested, Popov was not satisfied. He first used his own shoe to wipe the spot, then used a towel. The referee appeared helpless, while Shi Yuqi on the other side of the court looked exasperated, but he did not react further, simply waiting silently. After fiddling around for about 2 minutes, Popov finally returned to the court, signaling to continue. Shi Yuqi served, Popov returned, but his very first return shot errored into the net. Just like that, Popov ended the match in a very absurd manner. The camera panned to Shi Yuqi, who shook his head as if he also found it unbelievable.