NEW DELHI: The roar inside the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Friday was deafening, a release of tension that had been building through what was an enthralling contest.
When Chinese fourth seed Jia Yi Fan sent her final lift sailing wide past the baseline, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand dropped their racquets, tears flowing freely as they etched their names into Indian badminton history.
With a thrilling 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 quarter-final victory over Jia and Zhang Shu Xian, the young Indian duo achieved something that had eluded the nation for 15 years: a World Championships medal in women’s doubles.
Not since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa stood on the podium with a bronze in London in 2011 had an Indian women’s pair navigated the strenuous depths of a World Championships draw. More importantly, their triumph kept alive India’s streak of winning at least one medal at every edition of the marquee event since 2011.
The Indians did not burst out of the gates from the start. Up against a formidable pairing featuring legendary Olympic champion Jia, Treesa and Gayatri quickly found themselves overwhelmed, trailing 0-6 and 2-8 in the opening game.
The shuttle was moving quickly through the arena with the Chinese pair dictating the early tempo and absorbing the Indians’ pressure to comfortably close out the first game 21-16.
But modern doubles is a game of chess with the shuttle travelling at 300kph. The world No.39 pair fundamentally shifted the board in the second game.
Trailing 7-10, they began operating heavily behind the short line, initiating rapid rotations and dragging the Chinese pair into taxing midcourt exchanges.
“We changed our tactics,” Gayatri explained after the match. “It was a bit tricky in the beginning, but we managed it. We took out some tricks. We just wanted our legs to move. Just to be calm on court, because that’s the most important thing. They are No.4 in the world. They are not going to give easy points. We just wanted to be patient.”
“During the second game when we were chasing, they had an advantage,” said Jia, a four-time world champion with former partner Chen Qingchen. “Their mindset and gameplan was better than ours. We lost the momentum. There was drift, which is why the shuttle was coming on quickly. The crowd was cheering for them... it was boosting the confidence of the Indians.”
Despite the defeat, Jia, who won gold at the Paris Olympics with Chen, offered high praise for her conquerors. “Treesa is very fierce. Her attack is very strong,” said Jia, adding that Gayatri “is very sharp-minded”.
For Treesa, earning accolades from a great was validating. “When I started playing, she won the Olympic medal. Beating her is a kind of confidence boost for both of us,” said Treesa.
Behind the strategic masterclass were two figures emanating their typical calm from the coach’s chair – B Sumeeth Reddy and chief national coach Pullela Gopichand, who is also Gayatri’s father.
Throughout the match, as the rallies grew longer, the instructions from the corner remained consistent. It wasn’t about overhauling their stroke play, it was about managing their minds.
“He always said to calm down and be in the present moment. That really worked today,” said Treesa. “In a few tournaments, I have messed up with so much greediness to get the points. I still remember when we played India Open... if I could have been a little calmer and patient, we could have scored points and won that match. So, I was just telling myself to be calm, it’s not finished yet.”
This is an incredible comeback from the pair whose journey got derailed in April. Just three days before the Asia Championships, she suffered an ankle injury, forcing the pair into a painful hiatus during a critical juncture in the calendar.
“Obviously, it’s been sad and emotional, missing those major tournaments,” said Treesa. My parents, my friends, everyone was there behind me to support me and help me recover as soon as possible. Gopi sir and Gayatri were there. Gayatri was training and waiting for me. I kept telling her, ‘I will return soon.’”
She did come back, only sharper, hungrier, and more composed. The crowd recognised that, carrying them through the toughest patches of the quarter-final. “The crowd gave us that confidence even when we lost the first game. They were in full josh (pumped up). That really helped us,” smiled Treesa.
After overcoming the fourth seeds for the first time in four meetings, Treesa and Gayatri will face their steepest challenge yet in top seeded Chinese powerhouse of Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning.
“Right now, we are just processing this one,” said Gayatri. “We are into the semi-finals and we are on the podium. But it’s not finished yet. This is not the ending. We came here with a goal. We don’t want to think about the outcome too much. We just want to get on the court first. We are playing well, and we just want to keep doing that and see what happens.”
