At the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Alex Lanier dismantled Japan's Kodai Naraoka 21-11, 21-11 to become the first Frenchman ever to win the men's singles world title. The 21-year-old from Caen needed just under 50 minutes to rewrite a record book that had stood since the championships began in 1977.
A final decided in 23 minutes
The ninth seed took control from the first rally and never gave it back. He won the first game in 23 minutes, claiming 42 of the 64 points played and reeling off eight points in a row. Naraoka, a finalist in 2023, chased low shots and searched for winners from the back line, but sent shuttle after shuttle wide as Lanier angled smash after smash onto the floor.
Two dropped games, one clear champion
Lanier lost only two games all week, both in three-game comebacks. He overturned a deficit against defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarter-final and rallied past Canada's Victor Lai in the semi-final. No French singles player had ever reached a World Championships final before that Sunday, and earlier the same day Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue won mixed doubles gold, making it a historic double for France.
The win extends a season that already included a first European Men's Team Championship for France and a runner-up finish at the Thomas Cup. Last year Lanier became the first French singles player to win the European Championships, and in 2024 he captured the Japan Open as a 19-year-old, beating the world number one along the way.
After the medal ceremony, Lanier kept his reaction measured. "I think definitely today was a day for French badminton and it was a day for the whole staff also," he told reporters.
A sport long shaped by Asian and Danish dominance now has a French name on the men's singles trophy.
