India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand sealed their berth in the women’s doubles semifinals of the BWF World Championships on Friday and secured a medal in the process.
The unseeded Indian pair fought back from a game down to beat China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in a match that lasted one hour and nine minutes.
The victory means Treesa and Gayatri are guaranteed at least a bronze medal at the World Championships.
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India’s last women’s doubles medal at the event came in 2011, when Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won bronze in London. Treesa and Gayatri have now ended a 15-year wait for another medal in the discipline.
The Indian pair looked much more confident after losing the opening game. With strong support from the home crowd, they stepped up their attack, produced sharper smashes and were more effective around the net.
Treesa and Gayatri have previously enjoyed success on the international stage. They reached the All England Open semifinals in consecutive years in 2022 and 2023. They also won bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and broke into the world’s top 10 at the beginning of 2025.
However, their progress was interrupted by a serious injury to Treesa earlier this year.
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The Indian shuttler injured her ankle while training ahead of the Asia Badminton Championships and Uber Cup. During a practice session, she accidentally stepped on Gayatri’s foot and twisted her ankle. An MRI later showed two high-grade muscle tears and two ligament tears.
Treesa then went through a long rehabilitation process before returning to action with Gayatri at the Indonesia Open. The pair later competed at the US Open before winning the Philippine International Challenge earlier this month.
Now back at their best, Treesa and Gayatri have reached the last four at the World Championships and are guaranteed a place on the podium.