Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand assure India of World Championships medal

India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have assured themselves of at least a bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi. The unseeded pair beat China's fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in the women's doubles quarterfinal on Friday, August 21, 2026. This is India's first World Championships medal in women's doubles since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won bronze in 2011.

Treesa and Gayatri, who were trailing 0-3 in head-to-head record against the Chinese pair, staged a spirited comeback after losing the first game. They dominated the second and third games, with Gayatri's aggressive flat exchanges and relentless net pressure forcing errors from the Chinese. The match lasted one hour and nine minutes. The Indians celebrated by falling on the court, while Gayatri looked in disbelief.

The pair had previously made All England Open semifinals in 2022 and 2023 and won Commonwealth Games bronze in 2022. Treesa had been recovering from an ankle injury suffered earlier this year. They returned to competition at the Indonesia Open and recently won the Philippine International Challenge.