Despite the boosted atmosphere in the Adidas Arena room in Paris, Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel lost in the semi-finals of the Badminton Worlds. The licensee of Chambly (Oise) and her teammate leave with the bronze medal in mixed double, a first in the history of this sport.
Despite the public’s encouragement, Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel could not make the difference during the semi-final of the World Badminton Championships in Paris. The French pair lost two sets to zero (18-21, 16-21) against the Malaysians TJ Chen and EW
The duo struggled on the beginnings of the sets and ultimately never managed to return to the score. “”We had legs and heads, but they were more consistent in the beginnings of the sets. We made small mistakes. It is sure that when you are led 5-1, 5-2 in these games, there is a lot of pressure and it’s even harder to come back“, Says Thom Gicquel.
They were more aggressive and clearer and we lacked success in a few strokes.
Delphine Delrue, European Champion 2024 and player of the BC Chambly Oise
Despite a victory last June against this same Malaysian team, ranked 4th in the world, Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel (8th in the world) did not manage to win. “”They were much more aggressive than the last time, they were clearer and we lacked success in a few strokes“, says Delphine Delrue, 2024 European champion and BC Chambly Oise player.
“We are demanding so we would have liked to do better and beat them. We would have liked to give a little more to the public and to all the people who looked at. (…) We gave everything, but they were better“Adds his teammate Thom Gicquel.
Worn this week by an overwhelming audience, the French pair also had to deal with stress. “”I think we were very mentally strong because we had a lot of pressure when they arrived on these Worlds. We wanted the medal at home and we managed to get it. So I think we can be proud of us. It just lacks a little something to go get higher“, Reacts Delphine Delrue.
It was a crazy week, the decibels were even higher today, I try to memorize all the emotions and I hope they will stay my whole life in my heart.
Thom Gicquel, French badminton player
By qualifying in the semi-finals, the tricolor duo has already offered the bronze medal. It is the second world medal in this sport. The first, in bronze, dates back to 2009, in simple, with the player Hongyan Pi.
“There, I am really disappointed because we are competitors and we always want to win, but tomorrow, we will have a beautiful world medal around the neck, so we are proud of what we did“Rejoices Delphine.
The medal ceremony will take place on Sunday August 31 after the mixed double final which will see the Malaysian pair tj Chen and Ew toh facing the Chinese pair clash Wei Yaxin and Jiang Zhenbang (2nd world) at the Adidas Arena in Paris.
