NEW DELHI : Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand assured themselves of a medal at the World Championships with a come-from-behind win over China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian in the women’s doubles quarterfinal in New Delhi on Friday. The Indian unseeded pair, which is on a comeback trail after Treesa recovered from an injury, toiled for one hour nine minutes to produce one of the biggest wins of their career, a 16-21 21-15 21-13 triumph to cruise to the last four stage and be assured of at least a bronze medal.
India last claimed a BWF World Championships medal in women’s doubles in 2011, when Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the bronze in London. The Indians came into the match with a 0-3 head-to-head record against their Chinese opponents.
Treesa and Gayatri fell behind 1-6 early on but fought their way back to 8-9 with six successive points before the Chinese entered the interval with a three-point advantage. The Indians continued to fight, staying within touching distance at 13-15 after some excellent rallies. The duo made the Chinese work hard, engaging them in several intense net battles. Zhang and Jia, however, moved to 17-14 before closing out the opening game.
After the change of sides, Zhang and Jia carried their momentum into the second game, opening up a 5-1 lead and then moving to 10-7. But the Indians responded with a spirited comeback, turning the tables to move ahead 13-10. The contest remained tight, with the score reaching 15-14 at one stage. The Indians then produced another decisive burst to open up a 19-14 lead and roar back into the contest.
In the decider, Treesa and Gayatri came out firing, surging to an 11-5 lead before extending it to 14-7 with a flurry of three points that the Chinese simply could not negotiate. There were a few nervous moments, with Treesa sending one shot into the net and Gayatri committing a service error. But the Chinese could not capitalise. Instead, they began to wilt under pressure, making a series of unforced errors at the net as the home favourites raced to a 17-9 lead.
The contrast in body language was striking. Treesa and Gayatri responded to every point with fist pumps and high-fives, while the Chinese shoulders began to drop. Gayatri’s fierce flat exchanges with the Jia and Zhang were one of the highlights of the match. The experienced Chinese pair began to crumble under the relentless pressure. At 18-9, they sent another shot wide.
The Indians missed a couple of opportunities at the net but continued to hold their nerve. They earned nine match points when Jia and Zhang once again failed to negotiate a shot and found the net. Jia and Zhang saved two match points, but then sprayed another shot wide. Treesa fell flat on the court in celebration, while Gayatri looked in disbelief as the Indians completed a stunning comeback.
In the past, Treesa and Gayatri made it to the All England Open semi-finals in 2022 and 2023. They also won a Commonwealth Games bronze in 2022 and broke into the top 10 at the start of last year.
However, early this year, Treesa suffered an ankle injury while training ahead of the Asia Badminton Championships and Uber Cup. After a gruelling rehabilitation, Treesa and Gayatri returned at the Indonesia Open and then played at US Open before winning the Philippine International Challenge early this month.
