His body still carrying the reminders of France’s epic run into the Thomas Cup final just over a fortnight ago, Christo Popov somehow found the physical and mental fortitude to make his first semifinal in Malaysia.

On Friday he was caught in a fencing bout of thrust and parry with the wily Moh Zaki Ubaidillah, and after 52 minutes, emerged satisfied that he’d closed it out in straight games, but only just: 23-21 21-19. It could so easily have gone three games, causing his reserves to deplete further.

“He’s a very good player. I don’t know exactly his age, but I think he’s still very young, and he has a really nice kill, honestly, and speed, and reminds me of Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie – a mix of both players — so he’s a very good player. I’m happy to win in two games. I’m feeling a bit better on court, I would say. I’m sleeping the whole day, and then I just wake up to play.

“I really didn’t expect to go to the semifinals. As I said, I’m very tired coming into Malaysia, and it’s a good result for me.”

How does one pick oneself up after being part of the country’s greatest badminton moment and return to the grind, with several successive tournaments lined up?

“It’s a good question,” said Popov, after some reflection. “I think we need time, and I didn’t get enough. It was tough for me. I almost didn’t train the week after, because I was completely — my body was completely off. Then the week afterwards, you’re trying to come back, but still hurts here, here, here. I still have pain in the knee. I didn’t recover yet from all the matches, and yeah, we just have to move on.

“Also now the calendar being so busy is also part of the game. So the more you play, the more you have to accept that your body is also needing some time off, so you have to accept you don’t play your best, you have to accept those things, and to manage all that, that’s why also the world No.1, No.2, No.4, sometimes we can just lose first round, not because there are some shocking things, but it’s just sports, and the level is so tight, so high, that if we don’t play 100 per cent we just lose.”

“Also it depends on everyone. For my side, yes, maybe a bit of drop of motivation right after, because you’re so happy about what you did, you want to celebrate, you want to, you know, savour the feeling, but then you know you have a tournament, so do not savour it a lot. But anyway, it feels great to be in Malaysia.”

A day earlier, having secured his quarterfinals spot, Popov talked of how the focus now had to shift to the World Tour.

“I’m not playing good, I think. It’s good enough to go through the quarterfinals. But, I’m honestly still trying to recover from the Thomas Cup… being also men’s singles No.1, there was a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I think I did good — great sometimes. So I’m happy about that. But, as I said, now we have to directly move on to tournaments and I’m tired.”

Nearly-There for Smith/Gai

It has been a remarkable week for USA badminton. Presley Smith and Jennie Gai had their chances to continue the dream week into the semifinals alongside compatriots Lauren Lam/Allison Lee, but were left to rue missed chances against Guo Xin Wa/Chen Fang Hui.

Smith/Gai were flying high against the world No.7 pair — last year’s All England champions – leading by a wide margin and holding eight game points in the opening game. But some unsteady play by the USA pair saw the Chinese nick the game from their grasp. To their credit, Smith/Lai continued to stay competitive in the second, until the Chinese made a late surge past them.

Other Highlights

» Mathias Christiansen/Alexandra Boje’s form continued to hold, as they made their fourth successive semifinal. The Danes beat Wu Guan Xun/Lee Chia Hsin 21-17 21-14.

» It was a good day for Denmark, with Daniel Lundgaard/Mads Vestergaard in men’s doubles and Line Kjaersfeldt in women’s singles making the last four.

» Teeraratsakul twins Pakkapon and Panitchaphon made the semifinals in their respective categories. Pakkapon and Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat qualifiers Chan Yin Chak/Ng Tsz Yau, while Panitchaphon got the better of Lu Guang Zu, both in straight games.

→Results (Quarterfinals)

→Order of Play (Semifinals)