Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand assured themselves of a medal at the Badminton World Championships with a come-from-behind win over China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian in the women’s doubles quarterfinal in Delhi on Friday.
The Indian unseeded pair, which is on a comeback trail after Treesa recovered from an injury, toiled for one hour nine minutes to eke out a 16-21 21-15 21-13 win and cruise to the last four stage to be assured of at least a bronze medal.
India last won a BWF World Championships medal in women’s doubles in 2011, when Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the bronze in London.
Bolstered by the home support, the Indian duo turned the tide after losing the first game with sharper smashes and cleaner net play.
Treesa and Gayatri had made it to the All England Open semi-finals in back-to-back years 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.
However, early this year, Treesa suffered an ankle injury while training ahead of the Asia Badminton Championships and Uber Cup. She accidentally stepped on her partner’s foot while practising, causing a twist in her ankle. The resulting MRI revealed two high-grade muscle tears and two ligament tears.
After a gruelling rehabilitation, Treesa and Gayatri returned at the Indonesia Open and then played at US Open before winning the Philippine International Challenge early this month.