Panic? Pain? Frustration?

What went on in the mind of Toma Popov as he watched son Christo collapse to the ground clutching his left ankle?

Christo Popov had been close to beating world No.7 Chou Tien Chen in the first round of the KAPAL API GROUP Indonesia Open 2023 on Tuesday, potentially his second top 10 victim within a week. The opportunity was missed in the second game; early in the third Christo yelped in pain and fell to the floor, having twisted his left ankle.

For the next several minutes, as Christo received medical attention, Toma Popov looked like a pent-up volcano, shaking his head in exasperation, even angrily swatting his hand at an invisible antagonist. Christo would gingerly walk up to him, exchange a few words, and finish his match on one leg. Retiring from the game would have meant Christo would have to withdraw from his later men’s doubles match with brother Toma Junior.

If Toma felt pain at his son’s plight, that emotion was quickly subsumed by his role as coach.

“For me, this is sport. Sometimes you just have to believe in the future. It’s okay,” Toma Popov said.

“It’s painful (to watch), he had some problems with his shoes. I expected it to finish in two games, so it’s very close. But Chou is a very good player, I respect him a lot. So… next time. Christo’s younger, he has to learn.”

Toma is the only ‘badminton father’ accompanying his children as coach at the elite level, the Bulgaria-born Frenchman having navigated the path for his sons. He has to play twin roles, he explained. He can’t show his fatherly side while in the coach’s chair, but sometimes he’s required to. Today, even as he watched Christo on the floor in pain, Toma was thankful it wasn’t a career-threatening injury.

“It’s important to be optimistic. It’s important for me as a father, as a coach, to be two different persons. I can separate myself into coach and father. Sometimes in the big moment, maybe I will become father, because the player is very clever, but sometimes I must be coach. Coach means being more strict, but sometimes the players must believe in me, so I have to manage this. It’s very difficult to decide (when to switch roles), but when you play the top five in the world, against players like Chou, Loh Kean Yew, Kunlavut, sometimes you must be coach and plan for tactics, but sometimes I must be father, because he must believe in your heart, to play with your heart.”

Incidentally, another ‘badminton father’ was on an adjacent court to the Popovs’ – Pullela Gopichand making his debut on the coach’s chair at an international event while his daughter Gayatri was on court.

Unlike Toma, though, Gopichand has had a hands-off approach with his daughter, preferring to let her develop under other coaches such as Mathias Boe and Arun Vishnu.

“In Gayatri’s case, it was her choice to become a player, and I’ve always maintained that it’s okay if you don’t want to play, but she’s the one who wants it more than me, which I’m very happy for,” said Gopichand.

“I look at it this way – by God’s grace to have two from a family to play at the highest level, it’s a lot of grace.  It doesn’t happen very easily, even for one in a family to play is big. To have two at this level is phenomenal, wherever she ends up, to be top 15 in the world, I’m absolutely proud of her.”