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Trio flying the tricolor as France goes in search of first All England title
France have never won a YONEX All England title but Alex Lanier and doubles pair Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel are out to change that.
With two representatives in the quarter-finals in Birmingham, France are the best represented European nation.
With the mixed doubles third seeds, and one of the brightest young things in men’s singles, there is chance French fortunes can change in 2025.
“It is very nice to represent France,” 20-year-old Lanier said. “We have strong men’s singles and mixed doubles, and it is nice that both the mixed and I can play like this and show France is a good badminton country.
“We are just trying to prove to everyone that France is getting better and now we just need to perform again.
“I am in a room with Thom, it is nice that we can share the tournament together and this brings a good vibe to the room that we are both winning.
“We want to prove that what we have done in practice is not useless and we are doing the job and now it is time to perform.”
Lanier knocked out world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand to reach the All England quarter-finals with the men’s singles draw wide open.
It extends his winning streak having triumphed on home soil at the Orléans Masters last week, beating Chun Yi Lin in the final.
The world no.16 had twice beaten Vitidsarn already this year but in new conditions at the Utilita Arena, it was the young shuttler’s adaptability that he was so pleased with.
He added: “Before the tournament, I thought the conditions were going to be harder, the practice was difficult and I was confident that I could adapt and was ready to do that.
“I haven’t thought about the draw honestly, maybe some players are not in good shape, the conditions aren’t easy.
“It is always like this, there are always surprises in tournaments and I myself am just focusing on which opponents I am going to face and how to play well also.
“I am not focusing on how others are doing.”
Delrue and Gicquel faced a tough test in their second-round match, coming from a set down to beat Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui 19-21 21-17 21-14.
Gicquel said: “What happened was we stayed calm, and we believed in ourselves, we also scored a lot of easy points at this moment.
“And then the momentum changed and everything was working better for us and less for them.
“In the third game, we tried to put a lot of pressure on her [Hsu] and I think that worked really well. The mental side was on our side today.”
For Delrue, the strength of French badminton on the World Tour is a reflection of what is coming through back home.
And with strong performances on the biggest stage at the All England, it is a sign of intent for what the pairing would like to achieve.
She said: “It is good that we have some good men’s singles and men’s doubles at the moment.
“Some young ones are coming and let see what happens in the future with them.
“But it is good for French badminton to win these kinds of matches and be in the quarter-final and hopefully more after.”
Lanier will face Wang Tzu Wei who himself knocked out a seed, Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the last eight while Delrue and Gicquel will take on the seventh seeds Xin Wa Guo and Fang Hui Chen of China.
And while many shy away from talking about whether they can stand on top of the podium, Gicquel brings a refreshing dose of positivity.
“100 per cent it is possible, we can do it,” he grinned.
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Photo courtesy of Badmintonphoto
