Alex Lanier crowned men’s singles world champion in red-letter day for French badminton

SINGAPORE – No Frenchman had ever won the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships men’s singles title since its inception in 1977.

But on Aug 23, a man from Caen broke that ceiling when Alex Lanier overpowered Japan’s 11th-ranked Kodai Naraoka 21-11, 21-11 at the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi.

His victory marked a historic day for France, as it was the second time the tricolour was hoisted after Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue made history with their first world title in the mixed doubles earlier.

World No. 10 Lanier, who has five titles on the BWF World Tour, said: “I think definitely today was a day for French badminton and it was a day for the whole staff also.

“Today it was the day for France, and when the mixed won, everyone was happy, and I just thought that I needed to give them a double smile, double moments, and I needed to make history again.”

The 21-year-old had overcome Israel’s Misha Zilberman, Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul, Hong Kong’s Angus Ng in straight games in the earlier rounds.

He then showed his credentials by outlasting top defensive players such as Thailand’s 2023 world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn and 2025 bronze medallist Victor Lai of Canada in three games.

Faced with another top defensive exponent in 2023 silver medallist Naraoka in the final, Lanier again stepped up his game to win in 50 minutes.

Breaking free from a 9-9 deadlock in the first game, he used his repertoire of deceptive shots and powerful smashes to dismantle his opponent and claim 12 of the next 14 points.

The second game followed a similar pattern as Lanier exploded in form after Naraoka narrowed the gap to 9-8, and sealed history by winning the last seven points.

Earlier, fifth-ranked Gicquel and Delrue stunned China’s world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping 22-20, 19-21, 21-15 in 78 minutes.

The French pair, who are both 27 and have a modest four BWF World Tour titles, were later doused in champagne by their coaching staff at the mixed zone as they also celebrated 10 years of partnership.

Delrue said: “A lot of emotion, really, really happy and super proud to win the first gold for France.

“It was an amazing match; both pairs played really well, and we had to try a lot for a win. It’s amazing to hear the national anthem on the podium for the first time.”

Gicquel added: “It’s amazing to be between two Chinese flags. When you are 10 years old, you don’t really think that can happen, and it’s really hard to believe, actually. It’s really important for French badminton.”

Prior to their breakthrough, France had just two bronze medals at the world championships, through China-born Pi Hongyan in the women’s singles in 2009, and Gicquel and Delrue’s mixed doubles effort in 2025.

But combined with Christo Popov’s World Tour Finals win and a maiden Thomas Cup final appearance in May, French badminton announced its arrival on the world stage.

Also going home with two golds were South Korea, who were the other big winners at the world meet.

Women’s singles world No. 1 An Se-young secured her second world title, after her first in 2023, by beating Japan’s second-ranked Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-14 in 49 minutes.

An, who is also the reigning Olympic champion, has been a near-unstoppable force, having made the world championships podium in four straight editions, with bronzes in 2022 and 2025.

While Yamaguchi could not add to her wins in 2021, 2022 and 2025, she did become the most decorated women’s singles player in the tournament’s history with her sixth medal, overtaking China’s Zhang Ning and Chen Yufei and India’s P. V. Sindhu, who have five each.

The women’s doubles final was also a straightforward affair as South Korea’s world No. 3 Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee secured their first world title by beating China’s top-ranked Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 21-15, 21-15 in 51 minutes.

Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang saved China’s blushes as the third-ranked pair beat world No. 4 Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, Malaysia’s first world champions in 2022, for their first men’s doubles world title.

The 21-17, 21-16 victory in 35 minutes extended powerhouses China’s proud record of winning at least one gold at the world championships to a 28th straight edition.