Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Reach Badminton World Championship Semifinals; Medal Assured
New Delhi: India’s women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advanced to the semifinals of the Badminton World Championships being held in New Delhi, assuring themselves of a medal in the process.
In a thrilling 69-minute quarterfinal, Treesa and Gayatri defeated China’s Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian 16-21, 21-15, 21-13. After losing the opening game, the Indian duo bounced back strongly, winning the next two games to seal a memorable victory.
With this achievement, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have become only the second Indian women’s doubles pair to reach the semifinals of the World Championships. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had created history by winning a medal in the event in 2011.
The Indian pair could not produce their best game in the opening set and made several errors. However, they quickly regrouped, raised their intensity and dominated the second and third games to complete a remarkable comeback.
Treesa and Gayatri had previously reached the semifinals of the prestigious All England Championships in 2022 and 2023. They also won a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Earlier this year, the duo broke into the world’s top 10 in the women’s doubles rankings.
Their progress, however, was interrupted after Treesa suffered a foot injury during training ahead of the Asian Badminton Championships. Despite the setback, the pair has made a strong comeback on the biggest stage.
Meanwhile, India’s challenge in the women’s and men’s singles events has come to an end. PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty all suffered defeats in their respective matches.
