Petaling Jaya — Newly crowned mixed doubles world champions Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue were eliminated in a surprising first-round upset at the China Masters held in Shenzhen on Tuesday. The French fourth-seeded pair, ranked fifth globally, fell 21-23, 10-21 to Taiwan’s Liu Kuang-heng and Hsu Yin-hui in a 38-minute match at the Shenzhen Arena.

Gicquel and Delrue had initially appeared to control much of the opening game but faltered in the closing stages, allowing their lower-ranked opponents, who occupy 48th place internationally, to seize momentum and dominate the remainder of the contest.

“It wasn’t a good performance,” Gicquel admitted after the match. “The start was okay but then we got a bit stressed. We forgot to play and make them move.”

For Liu and Hsu, the victory held particular significance as they faced the newly crowned world champions. “Knowing they had just become world champions, we really wanted to challenge them. We wanted to beat them even more,” Liu stated.

Hsu credited their offensive tactics and disciplined execution of their game plan as key factors behind their win. “It was our offence. We did what we were supposed to and executed our game plan well. That gave us the platform to build on early,” she noted.

Looking ahead, Liu and Hsu are set to face India’s Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto in the next round for a place in the quarter-finals.

The tournament has seen a series of unexpected results on its opening day, including the exit of home favorite Shi Yuqi in men’s singles. Shi suffered a decisive defeat, falling 11-21, 10-21 to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew.

In men’s doubles, top-ranked Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea were also eliminated after a narrow 19-21, 19-21 loss to Indonesia’s Leo Rolly and Daniel Marthin in their opening match.

These early shocks have added unpredictability to the China Masters, highlighting the competitive depth of the field.