Thomas Gicquel-Delphine Delrue Stage ‘French Revolution’ At BWF World Championships 2026 Finals

New Delhi, August 23: Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue made history on Sunday as France claimed its first-ever World Championships gold medal, with the fifth-seeded mixed doubles pair defeating top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in a thrilling final in New Delhi.

The French duo produced a composed tactical display to overcome their Chinese opponents 22-20, 19-21, 21-15, becoming the first French players to win a world title in badminton.

Gicquel and Delrue repeatedly neutralised Huang Dong Ping's threat at the net while using flick serves to disrupt Feng Yan Zhe's rhythm. They even produced the tactic on match point before sealing a landmark victory.

The triumph also ended a long wait for Europe in a paired event. The continent's previous world title in a paired discipline came in 2009, when Denmark's Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl won the mixed doubles crown, also in India.

"It's amazing. Like 10 years ago, no French player could have thought about that. So it's amazing," Delrue said after the victory.

"A lot of emotion, really, really happy and super proud to win the first world title for France. It was an amazing match. Both pairs played really well, and we had to try a lot for a win."

For Delrue, the achievement carried an additional emotional significance as she heard France's national anthem played during the medal ceremony for the first time at a World Championships.

Gicquel was equally overwhelmed by the magnitude of the achievement. He highlighted the growth of the racquet sport in the country under shadows of

"With Alex and the rest of the team, we try to bring France to the top at every tournament. We can see that every week, someone is achieving something. So being the first comes with a bit more pressure because there are many more coming behind us."

The historic victory marks a major milestone for French badminton and underlines the rapid rise of the country's mixed doubles programme on the international stage.