Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand reach quarters as India's doubles carry medal hopes

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand defeated Japan's Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi 21-16, 21-12 on Thursday to move into the women's doubles quarterfinals at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi.

With the singles campaign ending on Thursday — PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty both bowing out in the round of 16 — India's remaining medal prospects rest on its doubles pairs as the tournament enters Day 5 in New Delhi; the nation's hopes now centre on Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty.

The unseeded Treesa and Gayatri produced the victory after Treesa returned from injury; the pair began their campaign without a seeding and advanced with a straight-sets win over the Japanese seventh seeds.

Their quarterfinal assignment is against fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shuxian of China, a matchup described in the original report as an even tougher challenge, and the encounter is scheduled for around 1.50 pm on Friday.

Fifth seeds Satwik and Chirag will meet third seeds Lian Wei Keng and Wang Cheng of China in the men's doubles quarterfinals, with their match due at around 6 pm on Friday.

Both quarterfinal matches will be played on Court 1 on Friday, and a win for either Indian pair will put them into the semi-finals and within one victory of a medal.