French Shuttlers Make History at World Championships
French badminton players Thom Gicquel, Delphine Delrue, and Alex Lanier have achieved a significant milestone, becoming the first world champions from France in mixed doubles and men’s singles at the Badminton World Championships in New Delhi. This marks France’s first-ever badminton world championship titles.
Gicquel and Delrue, the World No. 5 French pair, secured a historic mixed doubles world title by defeating the World No. 1 duo of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China. The final match concluded with scores of 22-20, 19-21, 21-15, lasting one hour and 18 minutes.
Following their victory, Alex Lanier emerged as the world champion in men’s singles. He defeated Japan’s Kodai Naraoka with scores of 21-11, 21-11 in a decisive final match.
Historic Victories for French Badminton
These victories represent a significant achievement for French badminton, as the country had previously collected only two medals in the past 29 editions of the BWF World Championships. Pi Hongyan won a bronze in women’s singles in 2009, and Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue added a bronze in mixed doubles last year.
The success of Gicquel and Delrue also marks the first time a European pairing has won a mixed doubles gold in 17 years. Lanier‘s win makes him the first non-Danish European to secure a men’s singles gold. Additionally, it is the first time since 1983 that European players have won two gold medals at the championships.
Delphine Delrue expressed her pride, stating, “It’s an amazing moment for us. It was the goal, but to achieve it, it’s something else. So we feel really proud and really happy to be on top of the podium today.”
Gicquel and Delrue, who were bronze medallists at the previous edition, demonstrated strong tactical play, particularly at the net, which helped neutralize Huang‘s influence. Gicquel noted their focus throughout the tournament, saying, “We were ready to win every match, but we knew that the path is really hard. So we were really focused on the first game, and after that, the next one. We were really focused match by match.”
Journey to World Championship Glory
The French duo had shown strong form leading up to the World Championships, finishing as runners-up at the All England Championships and reaching the semifinals at the Indonesia and China Super 1000 tournaments earlier this year. Their biggest success on the BWF World Tour came when they won the Indonesia Open.
The rise of French badminton is attributed to a structured development program. Children enter regional training centers between 11 and 14 years old, then progress to the national program. This system is supported by over 2,000 clubs across France, a significant increase from the approximately 3,000 registered players in the 1970s to nearly 250,000 today.
Local governments contribute to this growth by subsidizing clubs based on development ratings, which helps keep membership fees affordable and makes the sport accessible to a wider range of children and immigrant communities. The investment, clubs, and belief within the system have contributed to this breakthrough in French badminton.
Alex Lanier reflected on his win, saying, “I didn’t feel that I won for me today, compared to the days before, or yesterday where I felt it was definitely for me. Today it was the day for France, and when the mixed won, everyone was happy, and I just thought that I needed to give them a double smile, double moments, and I needed to make history again.”
Gicquel, born in Tours, began playing badminton two decades ago, while Delrue, born in Sarcelles, started her journey at seven years old. They formed their doubles team around the age of 17. Delrue explained, “The federation wanted a young pair that could play for a long time together. So they said, ‘okay, you will play with Thom’. And then we made good results at the beginning. So we kept playing together and we are quite happy with that.”
The medals were celebrated with champagne by teammates as Gicquel and Delrue returned from the podium on Sunday.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
