Historic Semifinal Spot for Indian Women's Doubles at BWF World Championships
Indian Duo Shocks World No. 4 in Semifinals
File image of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly(Photo: @ViratKoisa18/X)
New Delhi, Aug 21: The Indian women's doubles team of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand has made headlines at the BWF World Championships by defeating the world number four Chinese pair, Ji Yifan and Zhang Shuxian, securing a spot in the semifinals and guaranteeing a medal for India.
After losing the first game, the Indian pair rallied back to win with scores of 16-21, 21-15, 21-13, marking them as only the second Indian duo to earn a medal in women's doubles at the BWF World Championships. The first was Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, who won bronze in 2011, 28 years after Prakash Padukone's historic bronze in men's singles in 1983.
Initially, the Indian players struggled as the Chinese duo took an early lead of 6-2 and maintained their advantage throughout the first game. However, Treesa and Gayatri gradually found their rhythm, utilizing powerful smashes and quick exchanges at the net to narrow the gap to 8-9.
Despite their efforts, the Chinese pair managed to maintain an 11-8 lead at the break and ultimately won the first game 21-16.
In the second game, the Indian duo responded strongly, refusing to let their opponents dominate. They matched the Chinese players in longer rallies and took a slight lead of 11-10 at the interval.
From that point, Treesa and Gayatri became more aggressive, executing cross-court attacks that stretched the Chinese pair and absorbing their pressure. They surged ahead to a 17-14 lead before closing the game 21-15, forcing a decisive third game.
In the final game, after a balanced start at 4-4, Treesa's powerful smash ignited a run of seven consecutive points, propelling the Indians to a 9-4 lead. They maintained their momentum, entering the interval with an 11-5 advantage.
After the break, although Jia and Zhang attempted to mount a comeback, the Indian duo quickly regained control, scoring three straight points. As pressure mounted on the Chinese pair, errors began to surface in their game.
With the score at 18-9, the Indians were close to victory. A review of a shot from Zhang that was called out did not change the outcome, and two additional errors from the Chinese players sealed the win for Treesa and Gayatri.
Later, the men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will also compete for a medal. The fifth-seeded pair is set to face the third-seeded Chinese duo of Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the quarterfinals.
A victory for them would secure India's second medal at the World Championships and the third for Satwik and Chirag, who previously won bronze in 2022 and 2025.