PETALING JAYA: Mixed doubles pair Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue are aiming for more after making history as the first French representatives to win a medal at the World Championships.
The world No. 8 duo made full use of home advantage, feeding off the strong support at the Adidas Arena to oust China’s Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 21-19, 21-18 in the quarter-finals on Friday (Aug 29).
The win not only booked their place in the semi-finals but also secured at least a bronze medal, France’s first-ever at the tournament since its inception in 1977.
“We are really proud. It was an amazing day for France and for us. We’re going to enjoy it, but also prepare a lot for tomorrow," said Delrue in a post-match interview with the BWF.
“It was a really stressful match with a lot of short rallies, so we needed to handle the stress. But with the crowd behind us, it helped us a lot and put pressure on the Chinese."
Awaiting them in the semi-finals on Saturday (Aug 30) are Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, who earlier had defeated India’s Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto 21-15, 21-13.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei hold the edge in their head-to-head record, having won two of their three previous meetings.
However, Delrue-Gicquel had the upper hand in their most recent clash in the Indian Open semi-finals in January.
“Tang Jie and Ee Wei are really great players, so it will be a very tough match.
"But I think the key will be the same as today, which is to control the net.
"We will need to step forward and put pressure on them with the help of the crowd,” added Delrue.
