New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) Bolstered by the hope fuelled by the Paris Olympics, French badminton players are turning a new page, a revolution led by mixed doubles pair of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue.

The French duo are on the rise again after achieving their career-best ranking of fifth at the start of 2023.

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Since the Olympics, Thom and Delphine reached the quarterfinals at the Denmark Open, the semifinals at the Hylo Open, before finishing runners-up at the Japan Masters, steadily climbing to world number 12 from a mid-2024 dip to 23rd.

The two made a strong start to the new season with a quarterfinal finish at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 and reached the semifinals at the ongoing India Open Super 750.

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"The secret is to have the shield of fire in our head and the body if we want to reach the top level. And for that, you need to have goals to improve and also goals for tournaments. And our big goal for this season is the World Championship in Paris," Thom said.

"That's one of the best things. If you play well there, it can be fantastic. So that's the main goal."

Delphine added: "I think we have a goal to be back in the top 10 and to be in the top 8. So yeah, we also want to qualify for the World Tour Finals. So we have a lot of goals."

With Paris hosting the Olympics last year, there were high expectations from the home players. Even though it didn't turn out as the French players had hoped for, it brought significant change and hope for a better future.

While Thom and Delphine are the top-ranked shuttlers from the country, Alex Lanier and Toma Junior Popov are climbing up the world rankings in men's singles, currently ranked 17th and 18th, respectively.

Alex had stunned reigning world champion and Olympic silver medallist Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the opening round of the India Open. The Popov brothers — Toma and Christo — are also knocking on the top 20, with Christo ranked 22nd.

Margot Lambert and Anne Tran have also broken into the top 20 in women's doubles.

"I think we felt the last two years that it was tough because we didn't have the best staff. And now, since six months, it's really nice. I think our mind is free, and we can play badminton," Delphine said.

"We have a lot of new staff right now. So we changed everything in September. Now, we are working with one Danish coach, one Icelandic coach, and one French coach. We have an all-new team, and it's working pretty well, I think. We are improving, and it's always nice when you have the feeling, at 26, that you are still improving," Thom said.

"Badminton is becoming increasingly ingrained in French sports culture, I believe. More and more players are taking up the sport, and there is a growing number of players who aspire to reach the top.

"I think the federation is now striving to become a high-performance organization, which wasn't the case before. So, I believe we are on the right path."

The French pair said while they missed the opportunity in Paris, the Los Angeles Games remained their main target.

"The next target is not just qualifying for the Olympics, but doing well and competing for medals. Yes, I think we haven't achieved what we want yet. We still have big motivation for the next four years, for the Los Angeles Olympics. And also, to have a stable environment is really nice," Delphine said.

But they are aware of the challenges ahead.

"It's always a little bit different after the Olympics. All the best countries are changing, all the partners and everything. So I think it's also a huge deal for us to make good results because there is more space for us. But at one point, we want to be the best in the world," Thom said.

"So we need to play against the best Chinese, the best Koreans, the best Thais. So we have a little bit more space, but it's going to be hard again in one or two years. Yeah, I think so."

Delphine added: "It will be a weird year with all the changes, but in one year, the level will still be really high." 7/21/2024

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)