3 min readUpdated: Aug 22, 2026 11:43 AM IST
The big names of Indian badminton all fell off before reaching the semifinals at the New Delhi BWF World Championships but Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand bucked the trend to reach the semifinals in women’s doubles. The pair remain the only Indians left in the competition and, in the process, have assured themselves of a bronze. India women’s doubles great Jwalla Gutta has now urged the pair to go for nothing less than the gold medal itself.
“Marvellous marvellous….Our Indian girls have proved it once again that they Can always do the unthinkable!! Gayatri and Tressa want to see u get the (gold) Nothing less!! GO FOR GOLD,” said Gutta. Gutta had won bronze in women’s doubles along with Ashwini Ponnappa at the 2011 World Championships. They were the first Indians to win a Worlds doubles medal and the last to do it in women’s doubles until Treesa and Gayatri on Friday.
Marvellous marvellous….
Our Indian girls have proved it once again that they
Can always do the unthinkable!!
Gayatri and Tressa want to see u get the 🥇
Nothing less!!
GO FOR GOLD— Gutta Jwala 💙 (@Guttajwala) August 21, 2026
Treesa and Gayatri, who were unseeded, beat Chinese fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in the quarterfinals. They began their campaign at the World Championships with a dominant Round of 64 victory over Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez, winning 21-9, 21-13 in just over 30 minutes. They followed that with another commanding performance in the Round of 32, defeating 16th seeds Lauren Lam and Allison Lee of the USA 21-15, 21-12.
In the Round of 16, they produced another big upset, stunning seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan 21-16, 21-12 to reach the quarterfinals. That victory made them the first Indian women’s doubles pair to reach the World Championships quarterfinals since 2015.
The medal confirmation is particularly significant as it is the only guaranteed podium finish for India at this event. Big names such as former world champion PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and Ayush Shetty in singles and men’s doubles pair and doubles Worlds bronze medallist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty all fell before they could reach the business end.
