New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) France’s badminton breakthrough is no longer confined to one pair, one event or one generation.
Within the space of a few hours on Saturday, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue became the first French pair to reach a World Championships final in mixed doubles and Alex Lanier followed them into the title clash in men’s singles, becoming the first Frenchman to achieve the feat.
Lanier, the world No. 9, fought back from a game down to beat Canada’s Victor Lai 16-21 21-13 21-14, completing a remarkable day for a country whose badminton ambitions were once largely built around individual breakthroughs.
Seventeen years after Pi Hongyan secured France’s first World Championships medal with bronze in women’s singles in 2009, the country now has a pair and a player chasing world titles on the same weekend.
“It is a little bit empty, a little bit tired,” Lanier said after reaching the final.
“I just focus on the match and also at some point I switch off a little bit the emotions. I don’t feel that emotional at the moment. But I guess for all the team all around, it’s also quite important.
“I’m a little bit too tired to understand how big it is, but I’m just focused on the next match tomorrow and let’s do it the right way.” The numbers tell part of the story, but the manner of the victories tells the rest.
Both Lanier and Gicquel-Delrue came from a game down in their semifinals, showing the composure and physical resilience that have increasingly become hallmarks of French players at the highest level.
For Gicquel and Delrue, the comeback was against China’s world No. 2 Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, whom they beat 19-21 21-13 21-11. The world No. 5 French pair will meet China’s world No. 1 Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in the final.
Lanier’s comeback against Lai was built on a similar refusal to panic after a slow start.
“I didn’t start the best way, but definitely I also trusted that I have the consistency. And I think at some point I just need to accept and play the rally a little bit more, especially in that second part of the second set.” Once his opponent found his rhythm, Lanier turned the contest into a physical battle.
“Definitely that was the momentum and I needed to make it very physical. And I needed also to get that momentum. It was very important for me, for the confidence, but also to show to myself that physically, okay, it’s very demanding, but might be even worse for the opponent.” His coach Kęstutis Navickas saw the victory as evidence of something developed deliberately rather than accidentally.
“I’m proud that we managed to show the tools that we developed in the training. I’m basically really proud that Alex has the mental toughness and ability to use the tools that we are working on. He showed a very big heart,” Navickas said.
The coach’s explanation of Lanier’s rise also provides a window into the larger French transformation.
Behind the world No. 9’s consistency this season, which has included a string of quarterfinal and semifinal appearances, has been a deliberate long-term programme rather than a rush for short-term results.
“It’s also a lot of hard work from the whole team. So I believe that the management, the coaching team, we are very aligned and we set up the structure,” Navickas said.
“We make the long term plans. For example, in preparation for the World Championships, we didn’t play some of the tournaments. Some of the tournaments we compromised.
“We made a long term plan and the whole team really bought into it. So I would say this alignment of the team and implementation of a different expertise to develop in the fastest and best possible way for us. So yeah, it’s hard, consistent, long term teamwork.” That philosophy is visible across the French team.
Gicquel and Delrue, who won bronze at last year’s World Championships in Paris, have reached the All England final this year and the semifinals of the Indonesia and China Super 1000 tournaments.
Their progress has been built around consistency, with the pair repeatedly speaking about the tactical, technical and mental work required to turn their talent into a sustained presence among the world’s elite.
“We had a level quickly in our career, but the big deal for us was to be consistent during the year and we worked, we talked a lot about how to do that tactically, technically and mentally,” Gicquel told PTI.
Besides Alex, Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov have also emerged as major forces in men’s singles.
“I think we are getting more professional every year. We can feel that we have some big talents in France and now we have the system that can bring us to the top, I think,” Delrue said.
“To have the Popov brothers and Alex, they are winning a lot, so we need to keep up with them. So it’s a good energy, I think.” When Gicquel and Delrue started playing, neither viewed badminton as an obvious professional career.
“It was only passion at that moment. We didn’t know that we can earn money actually, so it was just the fun, the love to compete,” Gicquel said.
“But when we started we didn’t know, so it’s a pleasure to have the French badminton grow and it’s a pleasure to be part of this.” PTI ATK ATK SSC SSC
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