Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Gicquel and Delrue Make French Badminton World Championship History
Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue are badminton players from France.
They won the mixed doubles world championship for the first time in French badminton history.
In the final, they beat the world’s top-ranked pair from China.
The match lasted three games and was very close.
The French pair played especially well near the net.
They had lost to the Chinese team four times before, but won this important match.
Gicquel and Delrue have played together for about 10 years and have also won major European and international events.
Their victory could help make badminton more popular in France.
Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue became France’s first badminton world champions.
The world No. 5 French pair defeated No. 1 Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping 22-20, 19-21, 21-15.
Gicquel and Delrue used strong net play and composure to win the 78-minute mixed doubles final.
The French duo had previously lost all four of their meetings with Feng and Huang.
Their title follows European and Super 1000 success, while Alex Lanier also reached a historic men’s singles final.
- Who
- French mixed doubles players Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue defeated China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping.
- What
- Gicquel and Delrue won France’s first badminton World Championship title.
- When
- The final was held on Sunday during the BWF World Championships 2026.
- Where
- The articles identify the event as being held here but do not name the host location.
- Why
- They won by taking the deciding game 21-15 after splitting the first two games.
- Final score
- Gicquel and Delrue won 22-20, 19-21, 21-15.
- Match duration
- The final lasted one hour and 18 minutes.
- French ranking
- Gicquel and Delrue were ranked fifth in the world.
- Opponents
- Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping were the world No. 1 pair.
- Previous World Championship result
- Gicquel and Delrue won bronze at the previous edition.
- Other achievements
- They became European champions in 2024 and won a Super 1000 tournament last year.
- Path to the final
- They defeated China’s Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin and benefited from the withdrawal of Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran.
- Source discrepancy
- One passage refers to the French pair as men’s doubles, while the match details and the rest of the reports identify them as a mixed doubles partnership.
