New Delhi, Aug 21: India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand assured themselves of a medal at the World Championships with a come-from-behind win over China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian in the women’s doubles quarterfinal here on Friday.
The unseeded Indian pair, which is on a comeback trail after Treesa recovered from an injury, toiled for one hour nine minutes to produce one of the biggest wins of their career, a 16-21 21-15 21-13 triumph to cruise to the last four stage and be assured of at least a bronze medal.
India last claimed a BWF World Championships medal in women’s doubles in 2011, when Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the bronze in London.
“We were trying our best. But after the first game, we changed our tactics. It was a bit tricky in the beginning. But I think we were calm and managed to win,” Gayatri said.
Treesa credited the advice of chief coach Pullela Gopichand to remain composed and stay in the present for helping them negotiate pressure situations.
“He always said just calm down and be in the present moment. I think that really worked today. I think that’s the kind of advice we got behind us,” she said.
Gayatri said there was no specific plan to target one particular opponent, but admitted the pair were deliberately trying to keep their legs moving and remain patient.
“I think nothing like that. We don’t want to reveal too much of the strategy. I think we were just rotating. We just wanted our legs to move and just to be calm on court,” she said.
“Because that’s the most important thing because they are number 5 or 4 in the world. So they are not going to give easy points. So we just wanted to be patient. It’s the most important thing for us.”
The Indians came into the match with a 0-3 head-to-head record against their Chinese opponents.
Treesa and Gayatri fell behind 1-6 early on but fought their way back to 8-9 with six successive points before the Chinese entered the interval with a three-point advantage.
The Indians continued to fight, staying within touching distance at 13-15 after some excellent rallies. The duo made the Chinese work hard, engaging them in several intense net battles. Zhang and Jia, however, moved to 17-14 before closing out the opening game.
After the change of sides, Zhang and Jia carried their momentum into the second game, opening up a 5-1 lead and then moving to 10-7. But the Indians responded with a spirited comeback, turning the tables to move ahead 13-10.
The contest remained tight, with the score reaching 15-14 at one stage. The Indians then produced another decisive burst to open up a 19-14 lead and roar back into the contest.
In the decider, Treesa and Gayatri came out firing, surging to an 11-5 lead before extending it to 14-7 with a flurry of points that the Chinese simply could not negotiate.
There were a few nervous moments, with Treesa sending one shot into the net and Gayatri committing a service error. But the Chinese could not capitalise. Instead, they began to wilt under pressure, making a series of unforced errors at the net as the home favourites raced to a 17-9 lead.
The contrast in body language was striking. Treesa and Gayatri responded to every point with fist pumps and high-fives, while the Chinese shoulders began to drop.
Gayatri’s fierce flat exchanges with the Jia and Zhang were one of the highlights of the match. The experienced Chinese pair began to crumble under the relentless pressure. At 18-9, they sent another shot wide.
The Indians missed a couple of opportunities at the net, but continued to hold their nerve. They earned nine match points when Jia and Zhang once again failed to negotiate a shot and found the net.
Jia and Zhang saved two match points, but then sprayed another shot wide. Treesa fell flat on the court in celebration, while Gayatri looked in disbelief as the Indians completed a stunning comeback.
In the past, Treesa and Gayatri made it to the All England Open semi-finals in 2022 and 2023.
They also won a Commonwealth Games bronze in 2022 and broke into the top 10 at the start of last year. (PTI)
