Thursday’s schedule at the World Championships is divided into two sessions, with the first nearly completed. While Christo Popov is attempting to shock the world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi, all three European mixed doubles pairs were in action during the early session.

Yesterday, Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje opened the day by knocking out the top-seeded Chinese pair Feng/Huang. Today, they faced another Chinese duo, Cheng/Zhang, in the round of 16. Cheng Xing in particular was outstanding, covering the court and making life difficult for the Danes. The opening game went down to the wire, but it was the Chinese pair who handled the pressure best, taking it 23-21. In the second, Christiansen and Bøje were unable to find momentum or control, and Cheng/Zhang secured their place in the quarterfinals with a 21-12 win.

Because of Christiansen’s suspension, the Danish pair cannot currently enter all the tournaments they would like. However, they are scheduled to compete again soon at the Vietnam Open Super 100, Indonesia Masters Super 100, and Korea Open Super 500.

In the next match, Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund looked to progress, but they too fell short of the extremely high level needed to reach a mixed doubles quarterfinal — especially against the world No. 2 Jiang/Wei. The Chinese duo controlled the match throughout and claimed a 21-15, 21-11 victory.

The last chance for European success came with home favorites Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, who faced Ye/Chan of Chinese Taipei. After losing a tight opening game 21-19, the French pair shifted the momentum, taking the second game convincingly 21-14. The decider was close until 16-16, when Gicquel/Delrue created a gap that gave them four match points. They needed only two, sealing the win 21-17 to the delight of the French crowd.

Now the only European mixed doubles pair remaining in the tournament, Gicquel and Delrue remain confident in their chances. “Of course we believe (that we can beat everyone). If we don’t, nobody is going to do it for us. We are here for that (to win it all), but for now we are going to enjoy this win and think about tomorrow later.”