NEW DELHI: For the past 29 editions of the BWF World Championships, France had collected just two medals. On Sunday evening in New Delhi, it doubled that tally in the space of two hours, and both were gold.Pi Hongyan won a bronze in women’s singles in 2009; Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue added a bronze of their own in mixed doubles last year. At the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the pair of Gicquel and Delrue clinched gold, and then Alex Lanier won a one-sided men’s singles final.Besides being the first French player or pair to win a gold medal at the World Championships, more milestones came their way. It was the first time a European pairing had won a mixed doubles gold in 17 years. Lanier, meanwhile, became the first non-Danish European to win a men’s singles gold. Additionally, it was the first time since 1983 that European players won two gold medals.
We will be welcomed like nobody knows us. Nobody will be waiting for us. It’s not football or basketball… We hope that thousands will be waiting, but we know that won’t happen.
Thom Gicquel
Their achievement, however, comes with an odd contradiction. France now has two world champions, yet neither expects an airport reception.“We will be welcomed like nobody knows us. Nobody will be waiting for us. It’s not football or basketball… We hope that thousands will be waiting, but we know that won’t happen,” said Gicquel, to a chuckle from his compatriot Delrue.
France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue pose for a photo as they claim gold in the mixed doubles final match against China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping at the BWF World Championships at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI PhotO)
France’s rise wasn’t accidental.Children enter regional training centres between 11 and 14, graduate to the national programme, and are supported by more than 2,000 clubs across the country. That network barely existed in the 1970s, when France had around 3,000 registered players. Today, the figure is nearly 250,000.To attract talent from outside the main cities, local governments subsidise clubs based on development ratings, helping keep membership fees affordable and making the sport accessible to children and immigrant communities alike.
The mentality shift
Former men’s World No. 1 Peter Gade, who was France’s national coach between 2015 and 2018, said a change in mentality was needed first. “We wanted to move away from short-term thinking and start thinking about becoming the best in Europe, or even one of the best in the world,” the Dane told Reuters. “That was a big part of our main message: to create belief among players, coaches, and within the system.”
France’s Alex Lanier in action against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the men’s singles final match at the BWF World Championships at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI Photo)
The depth is now unmistakable. France has five men inside the world’s top 100, including Lanier and the Popov brothers, Christo and Toma Jr., while 11 French doubles pairs occupy the top 100 across the three disciplines.Lanier, the newly crowned world champion, is poised to jump to World No. 7 when the rankings are published. Before winning the title in New Delhi, he had won the gold medal at the 2025 European Championships and, in 2024, became the first French player to win a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament in Japan.Gicquel and Delrue sealed the bronze medal at last year’s World Championships in Paris, and this year, they reached the All England final and the semifinals at the Indonesia and China Super 1000 tournaments. Their biggest success on the BWF World Tour came in 2025, when they won the Indonesia Open.
We started to play together when we entered the National Centre at 17, I think. The federation wanted a young pair that could play for a long time together.
Delphine Delrue
Despite a first-round exit, Christo Popov is slated to climb to World No. 2 next week. Easily France’s biggest medal hope, the 24-year-old is a World Junior Championships bronze medallist, but his biggest achievement came last year when he won the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals.Long before taking France into the history books on Sunday, the 27-year-old duo were navigating uncharted waters. Gicquel, born in Tours, started playing two decades ago. Delrue, born in Sarcelles, also began her badminton journey as a seven-year-old. At around 17, they came together to form a doubles team.
France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue pose for a photo as they claim gold in the mixed doubles final match against China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping at the BWF World Championships at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Sunday. (ANI Photo)
“We started to play together when we entered the National Centre at 17, I think. 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,” Delrue explained.“I think we had a good group when we were young. We won a lot in Europe and to have this mentality at 18 helps a lot when we come onto the world stage. The federation put more money, more effort for us to be better, so I think that helped us to grow. Now the sport is very professional in France, so that’s why a lot of people are coming now,” she continued.
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
Alex Lanier
The investment, the clubs and the belief had all been pointing towards a breakthrough. On Sunday, France finally had the medals to prove it.“I think it’s definitely huge for France. We felt all the support from the fans, we also got all the support from all the staff behind,” Lanier said after his win.“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.”As Gicquel and Delrue returned through the media zone, fresh from the top step of the podium, teammates sprayed them with champagne. France had waited 29 World Championships for this moment. There was little left to do but turn the bottle around and celebrate history.
