Gayatri Gopichand–Treesa Jolly Settle for Bronze

India’s campaign at the World Badminton Championships ended with a historic bronze for Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly. The Indian pair, which had already assured India of a women’s doubles medal after a gap of 15 years, fought hard against top seeds Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China in the semifinal before losing 21-18, 13-21, 8-21. Despite missing out on a place in the final, the duo delivered one of India’s standout performances at the championships.

Gayatri and Treesa began strongly, racing to a 7-2 lead in the opening game. The Chinese pair fought back, but the Indians held their nerve and eventually took the game 21-18. The second game remained closely contested until the interval, after which errors around the net allowed the Chinese duo to take control. The Indian pair struggled to recover in the decider and lost the third game 8-21. Their bronze is nevertheless a significant achievement, as they became only the second Indian women’s doubles pair after Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa to win a World Championships medal. Gutta and Ponnappa had claimed bronze in 2011.