The Indian unseeded pair, who are on a comeback trail after Treesa recovered from an injury, put up a dominant show to stun world No 7 Japanese Rin and Kie 21-16, 21-12 in a lop-sided contest. Treesa and Gayatri, who were awarded the Arjuna Award for 2025, 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 medal in 2022 and broke into the top 10 at the start of last year.
However, earlier this year, Treesa suffered an ankle injury while training ahead of the Asia Badminton Championships and Uber Cup 2026. Treesa had 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.
Treesa and Gayatri returned into action together at Indonesia Open 2026 and then played at US Open 2026 before winning the Philippine International Challenge early this month. Gayatri Gopichand credited the home crowd support for help the doubles pair survive in double situations in the pre-quarterfinals clash.
“I think getting on court, definitely there’s a little pressure, but it’s the kind of pressure you enjoy because you’re playing in Delhi. So yeah, even in the first set we were down 13-16, but then we got some tips from our coaches and I think yeah after that we’ve implemented it pretty well. So yeah, I think I’m super happy. Even in the second game there were a few… it was pretty tricky, neck-to-neck, but then yeah, I’m glad we could stay calm and pull the game off,” Gayatri Gopichand told reporters after the win.
“I think at one point we were under pressure, the crowd was carrying us. So I just want to thank them and I just want them to keep believing in us and I hope to give them more reasons to celebrate,” she added.
Her doubles partner Treesa Jolly harped on the fact that the focus will be on winning the quarterfinal, rather than think about a Worlds medal. The world No. 39 pair will now face fourth-seeded Chinese pair of Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian in the quarterfinals clash.
“I think obviously it (medal) will be in our mind, but we just need to be present at this moment. Like we need to enjoy this victory and just take good recovery and just prepare for the next match,” Jolly said.