Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand produced a stunning comeback against China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian to storm into the women’s doubles semifinals of the BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi on Friday, becoming the first Indian women’s doubles pair in 15 years to secure a medal at the prestigious tournament.
The world No. 39 Indian pair, who entered the tournament unseeded, recovered from a slow start to defeat the Chinese combination 15-21, 21-16, 21-13 in the quarterfinal at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The victory also guaranteed India a medal at the World Championships.
The achievement is particularly significant as Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa were the last Indian women’s doubles pair to win a World Championships medal, claiming bronze in 2011.
The medal is India’s first guaranteed podium finish at the 2026 World Championships so far. PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Unnati Hooda and Ayush Shetty, among others, had been eliminated earlier in the tournament.
India can add another medal later on Friday, with fifth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty taking on Chinese third seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang in the men’s doubles quarterfinals. A victory for the Indian pair would guarantee a second medal for the hosts.
Slow start, Chinese pair take opening game
The Indian pair struggled to settle into the contest as Jia and Zhang raced to a 5-0 lead. Gayatri’s poor judgement made it 0-6 before India finally opened their account. Treesa then produced a smash for 2-6, but errors from the Indians allowed the Chinese pair to maintain their advantage.
India gradually found their rhythm. Gayatri’s drop and good judgement on the backline helped the Indians close the gap, while a Treesa smash brought them within a point at 8-9.
A net error from India allowed China to enter the mid-game interval with an 11-8 lead.
Gayatri continued to make an impact after the interval, making a good call on the backline before Treesa’s brilliant net play helped India regain the serve. A Gayatri smash then reduced the deficit to 11-13.
The Indians appeared to be building momentum. China hit wide to make it 12-13, and a brilliant defensive exchange from India ended with a Treesa smash to make it 13-15. Another Chinese error made it 14-15.
But India could not sustain the fightback. A net error and two successive wide shots allowed China to move ahead again. India managed another point at 15-18, but the Chinese pair regained control and reached game point at 20-15. Despite a late opportunity to fight back, Gayatri made an error in defence and China closed out the opening game 21-15.
Indians turn the match around
The second game began with another error from India at the net, although China immediately returned the favour with a wide shot. A wild smash and a wide shot from Gayatri then left India trailing 1-4.
The Indians slowly began to find their range. After trailing 1-5, they used better net play to move to 5-6, although a long shot from Gayatri and another Indian net error allowed China to retain the lead.
Two fortunate points helped India close the gap to 7-8 before a long serve and poor defence again put them under pressure.
Then came the turning point.
Gayatri unleashed a series of powerful smashes, helping India draw level at 10-10. China hit long on the next rally and India entered the interval with an 11-10 advantage.
The Indians continued to attack after the break. Gayatri’s net play made it 13-10 before a wide shot from Treesa and a wild Gayatri smash allowed China to close the gap.
India responded with another smash to move 14-12 ahead. A long serve from China extended the advantage, although a brilliant defensive rally from the Indians ended with China taking the point to make it 15-14.
The Indian pair then stepped up again.
A Chinese smash into the net made it 16-14. India continued to dictate the pace, and a long, smash-and-drop exchange followed by resolute defence eventually forced China into another error, giving the Indians an 18-15 lead.
China hit into the net again to make it 19-15. Gayatri then made an error at the net, but a Chinese shot went long to put India within one point of taking the game.
At 20-16, China again went long, and the Indians closed out the game 21-16.
Having lost the opening game, Treesa and Gayatri had completely changed the complexion of the match.
India dominate the decider
The Indians began the deciding game with an error, Gayatri sending a wild smash into the net, but quickly recovered to establish a 4-2 lead.
At 1-4, the Chinese pair briefly appeared to have India under pressure, even catching both Indian players in the same area of the court. Treesa responded with a brilliant smash, and India immediately shifted the momentum.
The combination of disciplined defence and aggressive attack began to trouble the Chinese pair. Gayatri’s serve was followed by another Chinese net error before her smash forced a wild reply and extended India’s lead to 5-4.
India were now firmly in control.
China’s errors continued to mount as the Indians pressed them at the net. Treesa produced a fierce reply that forced the Chinese pair to hit long and wide, taking India to 8-4.
Even when India briefly showed signs of losing concentration, the pair recovered quickly and forced another Chinese error. China reduced the deficit to 9-5 with good net play, but the Indians maintained the pace.
Treesa was particularly effective around the net, repeatedly forcing the Chinese pair into difficult replies. A Chinese judgement error made it 11-5.
The Indians combined attack and defence brilliantly, although one shot went long at 11-6. Gayatri then engaged in a fierce net battle and forced another Chinese shot into the net as India moved to 12-6.
India were now dictating almost every exchange. They moved to 14-6 before China benefited from a fortunate point.
The Chinese pair tried to fight back with fast, aggressive exchanges. Treesa attempted to break the rhythm with a soft shot at the net but failed, allowing China to move to 14-8.
However, a Chinese error handed India the serve again.
A long serve from Gayatri made it 15-9, followed by a short Chinese serve. India continued to attack at the net and moved to 17-9. China then hit into the net before another wide reply took the Indians to 19-9.
There was a brief nervous spell for India as two soft replies from Treesa went into the net, allowing China to reduce the deficit to 19-11.
But the Indians held their nerve.
Treesa produced a flat shot that China could only return into the net, taking India to 20-11 and match point. Gayatri’s error made it 20-12, followed by another soft Treesa reply into the net for 20-13.
The next rally ended the contest.
China sent a wild reply wide, and Treesa immediately went down on the court in celebration. Gayatri turned towards her father and coach, Pullela Gopichand, who watched the historic moment seemingly dumbstruck.
The Indian pair had completed a remarkable comeback — from losing the opening game to winning the next two — and secured a place in the World Championships semifinals.
For Treesa and Gayatri, the victory is more than a semifinal berth. It puts their names alongside Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa as only the second Indian women’s doubles combination to win a World Championships medal and ends a 15-year wait for India in the discipline.
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