New Delhi, August 24: The BWF World Championships 2026 concluded on Sunday, setting multiple new records. The mixed doubles pair of Thom Giquel and Delphine Delrue secured France’s first gold medal, while Alex Lanier claimed the men’s singles title.
Meanwhile, Korea’s An Se-young won her second gold medal in women’s singles.
Giquel and Delrue, who won a bronze medal in the previous edition, made history at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium by defeating China’s top-seeded pair, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, with scores of 22-20, 19-21, 21-15. The match lasted for 1 hour and 18 minutes.
Lanier triumphed over Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in a match that lasted 50 minutes, winning with scores of 21-11, 21-11. This victory made France the second European country to win multiple gold medals in a single edition.
Like France, the Korean team also returned home with two gold medals. Women’s world number one An Se-young defeated reigning champion Akane Yamaguchi with scores of 21-17, 21-14 to secure her title. Additionally, the duo of Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee ended a 31-year wait for the women’s doubles title by overcoming China’s top-seeded pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning with scores of 21-15, 21-15. Korea last won the women’s doubles title in 1995. Treasa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also received bronze medals. Lee became the oldest women’s doubles world champion at 32 years and 70 days.
In the women’s singles final, An won the first game by clinching four consecutive points from a 17-17 tie, then took the second game 21-14. In the men’s singles final, Lanier made a strong comeback after trailing 7-9 in the first game, winning 13 out of the next 14 points to take control of the match. He faced no difficulties in the second game, winning seven consecutive points from a score of 14-11 to become France’s first men’s singles champion.
Since joining the World Championships in 1983, China had a record of winning at least one title at stake. However, the third-seeded Liang Weikang and Wang Chang maintained this streak by defeating Malaysia’s former champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik with scores of 21-16, 21-17 to claim the men’s doubles title. This marked Liang and Wang’s first world title.