France’s Double Gold Shakes Up Delhi
Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue delivered France’s first ever BWF World Championships title on Sunday, outlasting top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping 22 20, 19 21, 21 15 in the mixed doubles final. The French pair neutralized Huang at the net throughout the match, and they even risked flick serves against Feng at key moments. A flick serve on match point finally sealed the win, ending a 17 year wait for a European pair to claim mixed doubles gold. Meanwhile, Alex Lanier followed with an equally emphatic performance, defeating Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 21 11, 21 11 in just 50 minutes to claim the men’s singles crown. His speed and power wore Naraoka down across both games, and the 21 year old later credited patience combined with sudden bursts of pace for the win. As a result, France became only the second European nation, after Denmark in 1977, to win more than one gold medal at a single World Championships.
Korea Answers with Its Own Double Gold
Korea matched France’s double gold with victories in women’s singles and women’s doubles. An Se Young denied Akane Yamaguchi a fourth World Championships title, defeating the Japanese star 21 17, 21 14 to claim her second world crown to go with her Olympic gold. Meanwhile, Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee stunned top seeds Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China 21 15, 21 15 in the women’s doubles final, ending a 31 year drought since Korea’s only previous title in the event. At 32, Lee also became the oldest women’s doubles world champion in history. Elsewhere, China salvaged one title of its own after both earlier finals slipped away, as third seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang overcame 2022 champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 21 16, 21 17 in the men’s doubles final.
