Alex Lanier became the first Frenchman to win the World title.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Alex Lanier walked into the history books and An Se-young reiterated her supremacy after being crowned world champions in style at the 2026 World Badminton Championships.
Lanier, at 21-years-old, became the first French men’s singles champion with a clinical, one-sided 21-11, 21-11 dismantling of Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the final to make it a double delight for the French. The mixed doubles pair of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue became the first-ever French champions in the morning, defeating the top-ranked pair of Feng Yan Zhe & Huang Dong Ping 22-20, 19-21, 21-15.
The Chinese pair was one of three in the running for a title here but only the men’s pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang managed to come out on top, defeating Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 21-17, 21-16 to ensure China returned with at least one title in every edition of the marquee event starting 1983.
Top-ranked An Se-young, meanwhile, extended her win streak against World No. 2 and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi to six matches in their 35th encounter with a 21-17, 21-14 win to regain the title.
The 10th-ranked Lanier was all over Naraoka for a large part of the final, never letting the Japanese settle or find his rhythm. The two were circumspect early on, probing, lifting and dropping tentatively rather than going all out on the attack. Leading 11-9 in the opening game, Lanier shifted gears, increasing the pace and becoming more aggressive, forcing Naraoka into errors and pushing him hard, dictating the play to win 21-11.
The second game was more of the same as Naraoka tried everything but was unable to find any gaps in Lanier’s defence and unable to find a way to repel his smashes. At 11-14, he seemed to have all but given up as Lanier raced through the next seven points to seal the deal.
The women’s final was on expected lines with high intensity, high speed action to the delight of the more than 8,000-strong crowd that packed the stands. The opening game was close with both Se-young and Yamaguchi exchanging the lead, the gap never more than three points between the two. An Se led 15-12 before Yamaguchi took four straight points to go ahead 16-15 but the Korean came out on top to win 21-17.
The second game followed a similar pattern, Yamaguchi gained the lead before Se-young landed a couple of winners to go up 11-7. A combination of unforced errors and missed chances from Yamaguchi saw Se-young lead 17-13 before wrapping up the win. For someone coming into the tournament with fitness concerns and a dodgy knee, this was her ninth win on the trot without dropping a game.
In the women’s doubles, the Korean pair of Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee beat top-seed Sheng Shu Liu and Ning Tan of China 21-15, 21-15 to break a five match losing streak and their first win in straight games since the World Tour Finals in 2024. In the process, they also became only the second Korean women’s doubles champions after a gap of 31 years, the last being Gil Young-ah and Jang Hye-ock in 1995.
The results (all finals): Men: Singles: Alex Lanier (Fra) bt Kodai Naraoka (Jpn) 21-11, 21-11; Doubles: Liang Wei Keng & Wang Chang (Chn) bt Aaron Chia & Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) 21-17, 21-16.
Women: Singles: An Se-young (Kor) bt Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) 21-17, 21-14; Doubles: Baek Ha Na & Lee So Hee (Kor) bt Sheng Shu Liu & Ning Tan (Chn) 21-15, 21-15; Mixed doubles: Thom Gicquel & Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Feng Yan Zhe & Huang Dong Ping (Chn) 22-20, 19-21, 21-15.
Published – August 23, 2026 08:33 pm IST
