New Delhi: India's unseeded women's doubles pair, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, secured a historic medal at the BWF World Championships on Friday after pulling off a sensational come-from-behind victory over China's Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian in the quarterfinals.
The Indian duo battled for one hour and nine minutes to register a 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 win, assuring themselves of at least a bronze medal. This marks India's first medal in women's doubles since 2011, when Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa claimed bronze in London.
Having lost all three of their previous meetings against the Chinese pair, Treesa and Gayatri faced an uphill task early on, trailing 1-6 in the opening game. Though they fought back to narrow the gap to 8-9 and maintained intense net exchanges up to 13-15, Jia and Zhang held their nerve to take the first game 21-16.
The Chinese pair maintained their momentum early in the second game, building leads of 5-1 and 10-7. However, the Indians mounted a spirited rally, winning a sequence of points to turn the tables at 13-10. Holding off a tight challenge at 15-14, Treesa and Gayatri surged ahead to lead 19-14 before comfortably closing out the second game 21-15 to level the match.
The decider saw the Indian combination take total control, racing to an 11-5 lead at the interval and pushing it further to 14-7. Despite a couple of unforced errors from the Indians, the Chinese pair began to crumble under constant pressure, conceding crucial points through net errors to hand and Gayatri a commanding 17-9 advantage.
High-fives and fist pumps signaled growing confidence for the Indian pair-highlighted by Gayatri's sharp flat-exchange battles-while the Chinese duo's body language faltered. At 20-11, Treesa and Gayatri held nine match points. Though Jia and Zhang saved two, a final wide hit from the Chinese pair sealed the historic comeback victory. Treesa dropped to the court in celebration as the victory was completed.
The triumph marks a major milestone on their comeback trail. After reaching back-to-back All England Open semifinals in 2022 and 2023, winning a 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze, and cracking the world top 10 early last year, the pair hit a roadblock earlier this year when Treesa suffered an ankle injury during training. Following intensive rehabilitation, the duo returned to competition at the Indonesia Open and US Open before winning the Philippine International Challenge earlier this month.
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