Paris, France – August 29, 2025 – The mixed doubles competition at the 2025 BWF World Championships has been a source of historic breakthroughs, with two pairs—Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei and France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue—each securing a landmark medal for their respective countries. Their victories today not only earned them a spot in the semifinals but also wrote their names into the badminton history books.
For Chen and Toh, their remarkable run ended a 19-year medal drought for Malaysia in the mixed doubles category at the World Championships. The last time a Malaysian pair stood on the podium was in 2006, when Koo Kien Keat and Wong Pei Tty reached the semifinals in Madrid.
Chen and Toh’s win marks them as only the second Malaysian mixed doubles pair to ever achieve this feat, a testament to their perseverance and growing chemistry as a duo. The road to this milestone was not without its challenges, as they had to navigate a series of tough matches, ultimately silencing critics and proving their mettle on the biggest stage. Their triumph is a source of immense pride for Malaysian badminton, which has long sought to reclaim its place among the elite in this discipline.
Meanwhile, the French duo of Gicquel and Delrue brought the home crowd to its feet with their stunning performance, securing France’s first World Championships medal since 2009. This is an even more significant achievement as it is only the second medal ever for France in the tournament’s history, following a women’s singles bronze won by Pi Hongyan sixteen years ago.
The energy in the Adidas Arena was palpable as the French pair delivered a clutch performance, a fitting reward for a partnership that has steadily climbed the world rankings. Their success in Paris, just a year after the city hosted the Olympic Games, is a major boost for the sport in France and a powerful statement about the country’s rising talent pool.
With both pairs making history, their upcoming semifinal clash promises to be one of the most compelling matches of the tournament. It will be a battle of two history-making duos, each looking to elevate their bronze medal to at least a silver. The winner will have the daunting task of facing one of the two formidable Chinese pairs—Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin, or Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui—in what is set to be an all-China semifinal on the other side of the draw. This scenario ensures a thrilling conclusion to the mixed doubles event, with either an established badminton powerhouse or a new history-maker set to claim the world title.