New Delhi: India’s women’s doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have staged an upset at the BWF World Championships after handing a shock loss to the world no. 4 Chinese pair of Ji Yifan and Zhang Shuxian to enter the semifinals, confirming a medal for the country.
The Indians, coming from game down, registered a 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 win over the Chinese to become the second-ever pair to win a BWF World Championships medal in women’s doubles. In 2011, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won bronze, securing India’s second-ever World Championships medal — 28 years after the country’s maiden medal in 1983 (Prakash Padukone’s men’s singles bronze).
The Indian duo looked vulnerable early on as Jia and Zhang raced to a 6-2 lead and kept their advantage through the opening game. Treesa and Gayatri gradually found their attacking rhythm, using their powerful smashes and sharper exchanges at the net to close the gap to 8-9.
The recovery, however, was not enough to prevent the Chinese to head into the breather with 11-8 advantage and eventually sealing the opening game 21-16.
The response in the second game was immediate. The Indians refused to allow their opponents the same control, matching them in the longer rallies while defending under pressure as they earned a slender 11-10 advantage at the interval.
From there, Treesa and Gayatri grew increasingly assertive. Their cross-court attacks repeatedly stretched the Chinese pair across the court, while their defence absorbed Jia and Zhang’s pressure. The Indians opened a 17-14 lead before closing out the game 21-15 to force a decider.
In the decider, after an even start at 4-4, Treesa found the breakthrough with a powerful smash, and the Indians suddenly surged. Seven consecutive points turned the contest on its head, taking them from 4-all to 9-4. Treesa’s attack continued to cause damage for the Chinese, and the Indians entered the interval with a commanding 11-5 lead.
After the change of sides, Jia and Zhang briefly attempted to revive their challenge, but the Indian earned three straight points to restore their momentum. With the Chinese pair increasingly under pressure, errors began to creep into their game.
At 18-9, the Indians were within touching distance. A review after Zhang’s shot was called out did little to alter the outcome, and two further errors from Chinese handed Treesa and Gayatri the decisive points.
Later in the day, the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty remain in contention for another medal. The fifth seeds will face Chinese third seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the quarterfinals.
A win for the duo would confirm India’s second medal at the World Championships and third for Satwik and Chirag, having won the bronze in 2022 and 2025.
(IANS)
