New Delhi [India], August 22 (ANI): India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will take home a bronze medal after their spirited fight against world number one Chinese combination of Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning ended in a three-game loss in the women's doubles semifinals of the BWF World Championships 2026 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.
Treesa and Gayatri, ranked 39th in the world, had accounted for three seeded pairs to reach the semifinals, ending India's 15-year wait for a women's doubles medal since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa achieved that feat back in 2011, according to the release.
The Indian combination began strong against their decorated opponents and opened up a 7-2 lead before the Chinese began to make a comeback. Liu-Tan won 10 straight points thereafter to take the lead for the first time in the game, only for the Indians to fight back with a six-point streak.
Despite the breathtaking pace of the rallies, the pairs began engaging in longer exchanges and it was Treesa and Gayatri's strong defence that helped them pocket the opening game with a streak of five straight points from 16-18 as a 8000-strong crowd cheered them on.
It looked like the Indian pairing could pull off another incredible upset as they kept pace with their opponents in the second game and took a 12-11 lead. But a 49-shot rally at 12-12 which the Indians lost due to some incredible defending by the Chinese, turned the momentum again. A lapse of focus from the Indians saw the opponents clinched eight straight points to then force a decider.
Liu-Tan then used all their experience to build pressure on the Indians as they played a 56-shot rally, the longest of the match, at 2-2 and then took control of the proceedings with clever net play and quick jump smashes.
"In the second game, second half, I feel like the few mistakes made us a little bit un-confident, little bit kind of doubtful about the strokes we were playing. Then we went more defensive and we cannot play defensively against them. But if you see the whole week, it has been amazing, I feel like, we have created many upsets and it's such a great week for us. So many great matches we played and so many things to take away from this tournament," Treesa reflected after the match, as per the release.
The bronze medal meant that India continues their streak of winning at least one medal at the BWF World Championships since 2011 and it marks a remarkable turnaround for a pair who hadn't played many tournaments this year coming into the tournament.
Meanwhile, the French contingent had a lot to celebrate in the first half of the semifinals day as they sealed two final spots.
Fifth-seeded mixed doubles combination of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue came from a game down to upset second-seeded Chinese pairing of Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin to become the first ever French finalists in the history of the World Championships. The French pairing lead 12-0 in the decider and did not let go of that advantage despite some late pressure from their opponents, winning 19-21, 21-13, 21-11.
Ninth seed Alex Lanier then joined the duo for final day action after he got the better of Canada's seventh seed Victor Lai 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 in the men's singles semifinal that lasted 85 minutes.
Later, defending champion Akane Yamaguchi stayed on course for a historic fourth world title when she accounted for Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-12, 21-17 in the first women's singles semifinal.
Important results:
Men's Singles: 9-Alex Lanier (FRA) bt 7-Victor Lai (CAN) 16-21, 21-13, 21-14
Women's Singles: 2-Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) bt 10-Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA) 21-12, 21-17
Women's doubles: 1-Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning bt Gayatri Gopichand/Treesa Jolly (IND) 18-21, 21-13, 21-8; 3-Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee (KOR) bt 8-Li Yi Jing/Luo Xu Min 21-17, 21-12
Mixed doubles: 1-Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping (CHN) bt Amri Syahnawi/Nita Marwah (INA) 20-22, 21-14, 22-20; 5-Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue (FRA) bt 2-Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin (CHN) 19-21, 21-13, 21-11. (ANI)
BWF World Championships: Treesa-Gayatri clinch bronze; French players make it to two historic finals
