New Delhi: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s coach Sumeeth Reddy said the Indian pair’s historic entry into the BWF World Championships semifinals was the result of months of careful preparation, patience and resilience, insisting that the assured medal was not the end of their journey.
Treesa and Gayatri pulled off a dramatic comeback against the fourth-seeded pair Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian, overcoming a game deficit to win the match 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in the quarterfinals at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Friday.
India’s victory has secured their first women’s doubles medal at the World Championships since the bronze medal won by Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in 2011.
Reddy stated that the preparations for the home World Championships had started about 45 to 50 days earlier and gave credit to coach Pullela Gopichand for having carefully planned the campaign.
“It started around 45-50 days before; obviously, this was a big stage, especially happening in India and since the first day, rather than just thinking about the World Championship, it was one day at a time and also huge credit to Gopi sir that he could plan and I think he is one of the greatest coaches who can plan such things so early and deal with them on a daily basis and it was a huge learning for me also, how to be in that specific area and do the right things at the right time,” Reddy told reporters.
The Indians lost the opening game 16-21 after China made a strong start, but Reddy said the team had been waiting for a small lead to release Treesa and Gayatri from the pressure.
“I think we were waiting from the first game that if our girls can get a couple of points lead, I think they would just free up and play their best game and that actually happened at 10-7 when the opponents were leading 10-7. I think from there when things changed at 11-10 and 13-10 is when they just could play the free game.”
“We already had a discussion in the first game that just a two-point lead would change the whole scenario.”
Treesa and Gayatri responded by taking the second game 21-15 before dominating the decider 21-13. Reddy said the emotional significance of the victory was evident immediately afterwards.
“Yeah, I mean even once the match finished, Gayatri just came and was seeing Gopi sir, I could see they were very very emotional, especially the hardship they had to go through and they wanted to make a point to prove that they are not just here to participate but go further and try to win the tournament.”
Despite the historic medal, Reddy said there would be no major changes to their preparation for the semi-final. “There is nothing special planning, I think we will do the same thing what we have been doing yesterday or day before, just think about what we need to do, what the opponents would be doing and just stick to that.”
The coach also backed the pair to remain focused despite criticism surrounding their partnership.
“I don’t think they would be discussing about a third person talking about them which is not fair as well, I think whatever they feel they need to convey each other, not any other person and see, even the best pairing in the world would have some kind of criticism,” Reddy said.
“I think the better thing to do is just think if something has gone right, just try to repeat that and if something hasn’t gone right, just try to rectify and change it, that’s the only thing.”
Reddy also highlighted the mental strength Treesa and Gayatri showed while dealing with injuries and difficult periods in their careers.
“I think one of the thing is they were patient enough to digest all those tough days, that is one thing and secondly they never had a rest day, even if they were injured, they used to just ice or probably just go back and watch some matches so that they are motivated to do better in the next tournament,” he said.
“I think it’s really tough not being able to play and see your colleagues play on court is a tough thing, but after that how you deal with those things and do the right stuff is very important and I am sure they have done it, that is the reason why they are here, standing here with an assured medal.”
With the pair now guaranteed a medal, Reddy acknowledged that some pressure may have been lifted, but stressed that Treesa and Gayatri would not ease off.
“Yeah, I think at least they are assured of something, but it’s not done yet, they will go with full force tomorrow as well.”
(IANS)
