DELHI, INDIA: The conclusion of the 2026 BWF World Championships has brought two hitherto unheralded stars to the fore: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. The duo, who participated in the women’s doubles category of the aforesaid badminton tournament, battled against all odds and won the bronze medal.
Jolly and Gopichand, both of whom train at the latter’s father’s academy in Hyderabad (Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy), were unseeded coming into this tournament, and ranked a modest 39th in the world. Nonetheless, the duo displayed immense grit to tackle their opponents and overcome them comfortably.
While losing to World No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China in the semifinals may have shattered their dreams, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand climbed 12 points in the BWF rankings after their bronze win. Therefore, recounting their journey throughout this prestigious tournament is of essence.
In the round of 64 stage, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand defeated Spain’s Paula Lopez and Luca Rodriguez (21-9, 21-13) before sending USA’s Lauren Lam and Allison Lee packing in the round of 32 (21-15, 21-12). The Indians reserved perhaps their most stunning performance of the tournament in the round of 16 stage.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are Asian Games medal prospects for India
Here, they shocked the world by overcoming the challenges sent their way by seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan (21-16, 21-12), and later, defeated China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian, who were the fourth seeds of the tournament, in the quarterfinals via a three-game contest (16-21, 21-15, 21-13).
What makes Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s journey at the BWF World Championships interesting is that the duo came back after a long injury layoff and stunned established participants despite being unseeded themselves. They are currently ranked 27th in the world, and will be major medal prospects for India in the upcoming Asian Games, which will be held in Japan in September-October.
As per the official BWF website, the duo gathered a whopping 10,500 points from their performances in the 2026 World Championships, taking their total now to 44,192. This will act as a major boost in confidence for both Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand as they aim to bring home a medal for India from the Asiad.
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