Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel write the history of French badminton at the China Open. Well established in the world top 10, the mixed doubles partners on Saturday became the first French representatives to reach the final of a Super 1000 tournament, the highest grade in the hierarchy of international tournaments.
In Changzhou, the five-time French champions got rid of the Malaysian duo Chen/Toh (21-16, 21-13), signing a brilliant revenge after their elimination by this same pair in the round of 16 of the World Championships, he three weeks ago.
There wasn’t even any doubt in the scenario because Delrue and Gicquel stifled Chen and Toh by playing the offensive card that has suited them so well since the start of the tournament. For 38 minutes, they performed a perfect score. “We applied the same strategy as yesterday, that is to say being super high on the pitch and keeping the attack at all costs,” Delphine Delrue debriefed. We dominated them mentally too. They failed to react and we were solid from start to finish. »
In the final against the reigning world champions
This mission completed, another presents itself: to achieve the first French victory in Super 1000. The challenge will be colossal on the night of Saturday to Sunday. The Blues will be opposed to the South Korean pair Seo/Chae, who is none other than the reigning mixed doubles world champion. “It will be a very, very big match,” thinks Delphine Delrue. This will be the first time we play them. They are very fit and confident, but we also regained a lot of confidence this week. So we are ready. »
2023-09-09 11:50:49
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