Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly lose to Liu/Tan in BWF Worlds semi, take bronze
On Saturday at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly were beaten by world No.1 and defending champions Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning 21-18, 13-21, 8-21 in the BWF World Championships semi-final in a match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes. The unseeded Indian pair briefly led and troubled the top-ranked duo but ultimately finished with a bronze medal.
Their result ensured India’s streak of winning a World Championships medal in every edition of the tournament did not end on home soil. Gayatri and Treesa enter the match as an unseeded pairing ranked world No.39, having previously been ranked inside the top 10. Their run to the semi-finals included victories over higher-ranked opponents en route.
The opening game belonged to the Indians, who produced aggressive badminton that belied their ranking and fed off what the report described as one of the biggest-ever crowds for a badminton match in India at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. Treesa Jolly was particularly assertive, posing a threat from the frontcourt and backcourt, while Gayatri Gopichand held shape from the midcourt and moved in to finish points when openings appeared.
At 14-16 in the first game, Treesa executed a spectacular jump smash after a weak lift from Tan and Liu rather than opting for a simple tap; later she produced a notable crouching defensive stop. From 15-18 down the Indians ran off six consecutive points to take the opening game 21-18 and drew an exuberant response from the home crowd.
The second game began in similar fashion for Gayatri and Treesa, but at 12-12 the match shifted. Liu and Tan adopted greater patience, keeping the shuttle flatter and shorter and waiting for opportunities to unleash their smashes. The Indian pair became more passive in defence and were slower to close down the Chinese attacks; unforced errors increased and Liu/Tan produced an eight-point streak to close out the game 21-13.
Momentum carried through into the third game, which the report describes as over almost as quickly as control had been lost in the second. Liu and Tan continued to vary pace and forced the Indians to work for every attacking chance; the single-minded aggression that defined the opening game from Gayatri and Treesa was no longer present and they could not find answers against the defending champions.
While the defeat will be disappointing after holding a game advantage, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly leave the BWF World Championships with a bronze medal, extending India’s run of medals at the event. For a pair that arrived unseeded and had to fight their way back into the top 10, the semi-final run reinforced their progress and secured India another podium finish at the tournament.