Treesa-Gayatri Aim to Turn Near Misses Into History at BWF World Championships

For Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the BWF World Championships quarterfinal in New Delhi is not simply another knockout match. It is an opportunity to turn a familiar story of promise into something much bigger.

Standing across the net will be China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian, the world No. 4 pair and a combination that has beaten the Indian duo in all three of their previous meetings. On paper, the Chinese pair starts as the favourite. But the last time these two pairs met, Treesa and Gayatri showed that the gap is far narrower than the head-to-head record suggests.

Six months ago, at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Qingdao, the Indians came within touching distance of taking the opening game against Jia and Zhang. They trailed 10-16 before producing a remarkable comeback, drawing level and even earning game points. Yet the Chinese pair held their nerve to win 24-22.

Treesa and Gayatri then began the second game strongly, opening up a 13-10 lead and putting themselves in position to force the match into a decider. Once again, however, the Chinese pair found a response. Jia and Zhang regained control and closed out the match 21-18.

The scoreline read 24-22, 21-18. It was a straight-games defeat, but it was anything but a comfortable one.

That match now gives the Indian pair something important heading into the World Championships quarterfinal. They know they can compete with Jia and Zhang. They have already pushed them into difficult situations. The challenge on Friday will be converting those periods of dominance into a winning result.

The circumstances are also very different this time.

Treesa and Gayatri enter the match after one of the finest performances of their partnership. In the pre-quarterfinals, the Indian pair produced a commanding 21-16, 21-12 victory over seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan. It was a result that did more than send them into the last eight. It announced their arrival as serious contenders on one of badminton’s biggest stages.

Ranked world No. 39, Treesa and Gayatri were not expected to dominate a highly ranked Japanese pair in such convincing fashion. But they did exactly that, controlling the match and showing composure that will be essential against Jia and Zhang.

Their run has already brought Indian women’s doubles back into a position it has not occupied for 11 years.

The last Indian women’s doubles pair to reach the quarterfinals of the BWF World Championships was Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in 2015. Treesa and Gayatri have now matched that achievement. But they have the chance to go one step further.

A victory over Jia and Zhang would take the Indians into the semifinals and guarantee them a World Championships medal. For Indian women’s doubles, it would be a landmark moment.

The pressure, however, will be considerable.

Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian bring experience, ranking and a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record against the Indian pair. More importantly, their victory in Qingdao showed their ability to survive difficult moments. Treesa and Gayatri had them under pressure in both games, yet the Chinese pair found a way to win the key points.

That could be the decisive area on Friday.

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The Indians cannot simply rely on producing good phases of badminton. They have already done that against Jia and Zhang. This time, they need to finish those phases.

In Qingdao, the opening game slipped away despite the comeback and game points. In the second, the 13-10 advantage was not enough to force a decider. At the World Championships, with a semifinal place and a medal at stake, Treesa and Gayatri will have to be sharper when the scoreboard tightens.

Their performance against Iwanaga and Nakanishi should give them confidence. The Indians did not merely survive the Japanese challenge; they won with authority. That straight-games victory also means they arrive in the quarterfinal with momentum rather than simply relief.

The New Delhi crowd could provide another important factor.

Playing at home in a World Championships quarterfinal is a rare moment for any Indian pair. Treesa and Gayatri will have the support of the crowd behind them, but they must ensure that emotion does not turn into urgency. Against a pair as experienced as Jia and Zhang, patience and decision-making will matter as much as attacking intent.

The formula is clear. Treesa and Gayatri need to recreate the level they reached in Qingdao while avoiding the lapses that allowed the Chinese pair to recover. They have already shown they can build leads and challenge the world No. 4 combination. Now comes the bigger test: can they close the door?

For 11 years, Indian women’s doubles has waited for another pair to reach this stage of the World Championships. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have ended that wait.

On Friday, they have the chance to make sure the story does not end in the quarterfinals.