A world medal for Thom GICQUEL and Delphine DELRUE

In the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles at the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships, Thom GICQUEL and Delphine DELRUE (no. 8, France) defeated CHENG Xing and ZHANG Chi (no. 12, China) 21/19 21/18. In front of a raucous crowd, the 2025 European runners-up earned a medal in this competition.

The last French of these TotalEnergies BWF World Championships, Thom GICQUEL and Delphine DELRUE enter an arena ready to vibrate and vouch for the French pair. During the first points, one can feel the tension and the rallies are short. With a few errors on both sides at the net, the two teams are very close until they reach 8/8. The French are the first to take an advantage and lead 11/8 at the break. Then, the game intensifies but the French maintains their lead until 15/12. They don’t panic when the Chinese pair comes back to 16/16. Thanks to a beautiful streak of smashes, Thom GICQUEL and Delphine DELRUE magnificently conclude this first game with a score of 21/19.

The French crowd of the adidas arena is more motivated than ever at the start of the second set. However, it is CHENG Xing and ZHANG Chi who get the best start. The Chinese react well after the loss of the first set and immediately take a few points lead. In an amazing atmosphere, the French manage to balance the set 8/8 and move ahead 11/9. The 6-time French Champions wanted to offer a show at these TotalEnergies BWF World Championships on home soil. There's no doubt they are putting on a magnificent show and thrilling emotions for their fans. Highly motivated to win a world medal, the French team resists well to the powerful shots of the Chinese pair and takes a nice lead in this game: 18/14. At 20/15, the arena is already exploding. But 4 match points are required to see Thom GICQUEL and Delphine DELRUE finish (21/18) and to give France its first medal in the history of mixed doubles at the World Championships.

After the match, the French are very pleased with the game and highly motivated to continue their great adventure: "It's definitely a great day but tomorrow will be even greater." Thomas GICQUEL

"We've worked very hard for 10 years to get to this point. On the court, we did not really realize we were in the quarterfinals of the World Championships and that we were competing for a medal. We just felt like we had won another match. At the moment, it's still hard to believe." Delphine DELRUE

Tomorrow, the French will pursue their dream and face CHEN Tang Jie and TOH Ee Wei (No. 4, Malaysia) for a place in the final of these TotalEnergies BWF World Championships.