Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue have just secured their first-ever World Championships medal — and, remarkably, the first medal ever for France in a doubles category.

The only previous French medal at the World Championships came back in 2009, when Pi Hongyan won bronze in Hyderabad. Now, Gicquel and Delrue join her in the history books after defeating world No. 12 Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi 21-19, 21-18.

In a thrilling and high-paced quarterfinal, the two pairs traded points throughout, with momentum shifting back and forth. The French duo were driven forward by a home crowd rarely seen in badminton arenas worldwide.
Delrue: “It is crazy to play in a full arena like this in France.”
Gicquel: “When you are leading with this crowd, they push us so much.”

The French pair were especially pleased with how they tactically adjusted during the match.
Gicquel: “We did that well in the first part of the second set where we were a bit down. We changed the tactics, moved forward more, and reacted really well I think.”

In the semifinals, they will face world No. 4 Toh/Chen from Malaysia, but Gicquel and Delrue head into the match full of confidence.
“We already beat them, it was a bit tight, so it is going to be a tough match. We know it’s gonna be hard — we are in the semifinals of the worlds. So we’re gonna prepare well, and then do our best, and I think we’re gonna be ready.”

Meanwhile, in the other European semifinal, the Stoeva sisters looked to repeat yesterday’s big win as they faced Tan/Thinaah from Malaysia. The Malaysians have been in superb form recently, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, and they lived up to that billing with a convincing 21-15, 21-10 victory.

It was a disappointed but proud Stoeva duo afterwards. They admitted they had hoped to put up more of a fight but gave full credit to their opponents.
Stefani Stoeva: “They play really good, they don’t give us any chance to be aggressive. They show that they are the best doubles at the moment, and probably, maybe, they will win the title.”

Later today, Europe has two more chances to secure medals. Anders Antonsen faces Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei at 5 p.m., while Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup will take on Hoki/Kobayashi from Japan in the fourth match on Court 2.