India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand pulled off a major upset at the BWF World Championships, rallying from a game down to beat world No. 4 Chinese pair Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian and storm into the semifinals, assuring the country of a medal in women’s doubles.
The Indian pair registered a 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 victory to become only the second Indian women’s doubles combination to win a medal at the World Championships. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had won bronze in 2011, which was India’s second-ever medal at the tournament after Prakash Padukone’s men’s singles bronze in 1983.
Treesa and Gayatri made a slow start, with the Chinese pair racing to a 6-2 lead in the opening game. The Indians gradually found their rhythm, relying on powerful smashes and sharper exchanges at the net to narrow the deficit to 8-9.
However, Jia and Zhang maintained control, taking an 11-8 lead at the interval before closing out the opening game 21-16. The Indian duo responded strongly in the second game, matching their opponents in long rallies and defending resolutely under pressure to take a narrow 11-10 advantage at the break.
Treesa and Gayatri then stepped up the intensity, using cross-court attacks to stretch the Chinese pair while maintaining a solid defence. They opened up a 17-14 lead and eventually sealed the game 21-15 to force a decider.
After an even start to the third game, with the scores tied at 4-4, Treesa’s powerful smash triggered a decisive shift in momentum. The Indians won seven consecutive points to surge to a 9-4 lead and entered the interval with a commanding 11-5 advantage.
Jia and Zhang attempted a comeback after the change of ends, but Treesa and Gayatri quickly regained control with three successive points. With the Chinese pair under increasing pressure, errors began to creep into their game. The Indians moved to 18-9 before closing out the contest, with two errors from the Chinese pair handing Treesa and Gayatri the decisive points.
Later in the day, India’s men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to secure another medal when the fifth seeds take on Chinese third seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the quarterfinals. A victory would confirm India’s second medal at the World Championships and mark the third medal for Satwik and Chirag, who won bronze in 2022 and 2025.
