World Championships | 22 May 2023

GAUZY and PAVADE Stun LEBESSON and YUAN, French Hopes still alive in Mixed Doubles Event

In a dramatic twist at the World Championships in Durban, Simon GAUZY and Prithika PAVADE delivered an exceptional performance to defeat the Olympic Games semifinalists and European champions, Emmanuel LEBESSON and YUAN Jia Nan. Despite being seeded number three in the Mixed Doubles Event, LEBESSON and YUAN failed to progress past the Round of 32. However, Gauzy and Pavade's remarkable comeback from behind secured them a thrilling 3-2 victory (11-8, 9-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8) over their compatriots. With their inspiring win, French hopes for a medal remain alive and strong.

In their Round of 16 match, GAUZY and PAVADE will face the German pairing of Nina MITTELHAM and QIU Dang. MITTELHAM and DANG displayed their prowess by defeating Lily ZHANG and Jishan LIANG in the Round of 32 with a commanding 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 victory.

Austria's Sofia POLCANOVA and Robert GARDOS secured their place in the Round of 16 with an impressive 3-1 victory (11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5) over Taiwan's LI Yu Jhun and HUANG Yan Cheng. Spain’s Alvaro ROBLES and Maria XIAO accounted for Chile’s Nicolas BURGOS and Paulina VEGA (11:4, 11;6, 11:5). The list of Europeans goes on with Sweden’s Cristina KALLBERG and Truls MOREGARD who overcame Barbora BALAZOVA and Lubomir PISTEJ of Slovkia 3-1 (11:5, 11:5, 6:11, 11:6).