NEW DELHI: On July 23, Treesa Jolly posted an old photo of herself alongside teammate Gayatri Pullela Gopichand on Instagram. In the photo, an enthused and pumped-up Jolly had her fist clenched, with the caption reading, “Healed by time, fueled by the wait.”On April 1, in a freak accident, the 23-year-old Jolly landed on the foot of her women’s doubles teammate Gayatri during a training session. The Kannur-born shuttler went down in a heap after rolling and twisting her ankle. An MRI confirmed two ligament tears and two high-grade muscle tears.The shuttler was recommended complete bed rest for seven weeks, followed by two months of rehabilitation. In all, she was slated to be sidelined from badminton for three months, ruling her out of the Badminton Asia Championships, among other tournaments.Before stepping on to the court again at the Indonesia Open in June, after a two-month layoff, she celebrated her 23rd birthday and visited the Disney Adventure Park in California. When she did get back on tour, the duo lost in straight games in the opening round in Jakarta.With the treacherous road back confirmed, the duo, alongside their coaches, decided to play the Philippine International Challenge and navigated the field to the title.
India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand celebrate as they defeat China’s Zhang Shuxian and Jia Yifan in the women’s doubles quarter-final match at the BWF World Championships at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI Photo)
The big fish came two weeks later, the BWF World Championships in New Delhi. On Friday, they assured India of at least a bronze medal by moving into the semi-finals following a come-from-behind 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 win against Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian.In the process, they became the first Indian women’s doubles medallists at the World Championships since Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta in 2011. It also extended India’s run of bagging a medal at the Worlds to a 12th consecutive edition.
I think just being calm and patient and just being in the present moment, that’s actually what we need to do to score points against them.
Gayatri Gopichand
“I think just being calm and patient and just being in the present moment, that’s actually what we need to do to score points against them. That kind of mindset was there. I think that really worked,” said Gayatri later.That memo didn’t quite reach Treesa Jolly.The World No. 39 jumped around the court, smashed everything that came her way and was a ball of energy throughout the 70-minute contest. As the Indians took the lead for the first time at 11-10 in the second set and carried that momentum, clinching six of the last seven points, the crowd responded with an equal level of euphoria. Chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, “C’mon Gayatri” and “Let’s go India” reverberated around the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand made history as the first Indian women’s doubles pair to win a medal at the World Badminton Championships since 2011
In the third set, the Indians started on the back foot, trailing 1-4, before bagging eight points in a row and never looking back. That lead grew to eight points at 14-6 and then got even bigger at 18-9 as errors from the Chinese rackets continued to flow while the Indians showcased months of hard work on court.Jolly and Gopichand took their time getting over the finish line, but when they did, they couldn’t hide their emotions. Jolly crashed to the ground on her back. Gayatri, meanwhile, took a quieter route, putting her face in her hands. Moments later, they embraced and hugged coaches Pullela Gopichand and B Sumeeth Reddy. Jolly, still full of energy, walked across to a loud Delhi crowd and sent a commemorative shuttle into the stands for a lucky fan.As the duo made their way for their media duties, the magnitude of the achievement was not lost on them. They wept one after another and needed to take a break before going ahead with their task of speaking to journalists.
India’s Treesa Jolly, front right, and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, left, celebrate with the latter’s father and their coach Pullela Gopichand after winning a women’s doubles quarterfinal badminton match against China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian, unseen, at the BWF World Championships, at IGI Stadium, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)
Reddy, meanwhile, stressed that it takes some time for an athlete to get used to a milestone.“When emotions fall in, no words could normalise things. They are very emotional and it takes probably a day for things to digest. Both of them have their own baggages. Starting with Gayatri, obviously being Gopi sir’s daughter. It’s a big baggage and everyone would say, silver spoon and all of that. But I think it’s a very big baggage. With this, she would be relieved that she is also a World Championship medallist,” explained the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist.“Treesa was also very hungry from the start of her career. She wanted to do something big, prove her point that she’s not playing tournaments just to compete. She always wanted to be, you know, the star of Indian badminton. I think this is a big, big achievement in her kitty as well,” he continued.
New Delhi, Aug 21 (ANI): India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in action against China’s Zhang Shuxian and Jia Yifan in the women’s doubles quarter-final match of the BWF World Championships at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI Photo/Rahul Singh)
Later in the evening, as the much-heralded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty bowed out, the home hopes now rest squarely on the shoulders of two 23-year-olds. Next up for them are top seeds China’s Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, and the Indians refuse to be awed by the occasion or the opponents.“We don’t want to think too much. We don’t want to think about the outcome too much. We just want to get on court first. And then I think we are playing well. And I think we just want to keep doing that. And see what happens,” said Gayatri.
