Treesa-Gayatri break 11-year jinx, reach BWF World Championships quarterfinals

New Delhi: Indian women's doubles stars Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand registered a big win at the BWF World Championships 2026 on Thursday.

They defeated the world No. 7 Japanese duo of Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the Round of 16 and are now just one win away from securing a medal.

It was an excellent comeback for the Indian pair, who missed the last edition due to injury and have now reached their first-ever World Championships quarterfinal in their third appearance at the tournament.

They are also the first Indian women's doubles pair to reach the World Championships quarterfinals in 11 years, since the iconic duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta achieved the feat in 2015.

"This is what we love and what we want to do at this level. When we play good matches, it gives us that confidence and belief in ourselves," Treesa said after the win.

Fightback from Long Injury Spell

The Indian pair have battled multiple injuries over the past couple of years, forcing them to miss several international tournaments as they gradually worked their way back to peak form.

Their injury problems saw them sit out numerous events, with their world ranking slipping from No. 9 to No. 39 over the last three years.

"When I got injured, Gayatri was still playing, and I just wanted to get fit while she waited for me to return. I'm really happy to be back here competing at this level again," Treesa said.

The pair have now booked their first quarterfinal appearance of the year at one of the biggest tournaments in badminton, doing so in front of a supportive home crowd.

They displayed excellent chemistry on court, rotating frequently and adapting their roles. Treesa, traditionally a backcourt player, provided strong support for Gayatri at the net, while the two switched positions effectively whenever required.

"In our combination, she's mostly at the back. But we've been working on both. I've been playing in the backcourt, and she's been doing really well in the frontcourt," Gayatri said of their game plan.

In the first game, however, the Indians found themselves trailing 9-13 after some good net play from the Japanese pair. Treesa then unleashed some powerful smashes and prevented the Japanese duo from settling into their rally-based game.

The strategy worked brilliantly as the Indians mounted a superb comeback, winning eight consecutive points to close out the first game in their favour.

They never looked back. In the second game, they continued with the same plan, with Gayatri producing precise net shots to set up Treesa at the back, allowing her to finish points with powerful winners.

They executed their game plan to perfection and outplayed the Japanese duo to reach the quarterfinals and keep their medal hopes alive.

They will now take on world No. 4 Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian of China in the quarterfinals on Friday. A win would guarantee the Indian pair a medal at the tournament.

"We need to be calm and be in the present moment when we play on court. When we think about the medal during the match, there is more pressure. We just want to stay focused on everything. We came here with a goal, and we are focusing on that," Treesa said about their approach to the quarterfinal.