Is this the golden age of French badminton?
The hosts of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the 2025 BWF World Championships currently boast two men in the top 10 of the world rankings as well as a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the 2025 Worlds.
And if you ask the men’s world No. 8 Alex Lanier, who also happens to be the reigning European champion — the first Frenchman to achieve the feat — there’s a lot more to come from France.
“We’ve had a really good generation; we all have solid potential,” he told Olympics.com at the World Championships in Paris in August. “I think now we need to target world and Olympic medals, and keep performing consistently — aim for the world top five.
“That’s another level of difficulty, really establishing yourself in the top five and climbing spot by spot, while being more consistent. Right now, we’re able to perform, but we still lack a bit of consistency.”
Lanier has time on his side to find that consistency. He’s still only 20, having broken into the top 10 for the first time in March.
“I think it’s the result of several years of training, but also of the staff and everyone supporting me,” he said of reaching his career-high rank of seventh earlier this year.
“We’re doing things the right way; we’ve got a good strategy in terms of tournaments and development. It’s really rewarding and I’m happy to be in the top 10, but I also know I got there through the work we’ve done in training and the choices we’ve made.”
