NEW DELHI: THEIR celebrations said it all. Doubles specialists Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly just couldn't hold back their emotions after engineering one of the biggest victories of their careers. Treesa fell to her knees and pumped her fists with pure joy. Gayatri was teary-eyed while hugging her teammate. Even the generally-strict taskmaster, Pullela Gopichand, was seen smiling as they went to hug him one after another. They had just pulled off the impossible, beating Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shuxian of China to ensure India ended up with a bronze at the very least in the ongoing BWF World Championships here.
The Worlds, being held in the country after 17 years, has witnessed quite a few upsets so far and this was another case of an underdog rising to the occasion. The victory clearly meant the world to both. Injuries had stalled their progress over the years and the World No 39 combo, who were ranked as high as No 9 once upon a time, had largely been in the shadows for some time.
But Friday belonged to them. It was just the result that the crowd, who were cheering for Indians throughout the contest, were hoping for. Having processed their emotions to a degree -- they returned for press duties after 30 minutes or so, they just couldn't stop smiling throughout the course of interaction.
"After the match, it was really difficult to control the emotions but we are now okay. We were processing that. We're happy that we got this win and we're now in the semifinals," Treesa, who has come a long way since her humble beginnings in Kerala, said.
Fifteen years ago, India's medal streak at the World Championships had been set in motion by the women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa. After PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty's exits on Thursday, India were in serious danger of missing out on a medal this time. It was fitting that Treesa and Gayatri managed to keep that streak going.
Up against the formidable pair, they were in an uncomfortable position after the opening game, which the Indians lost.
Even in the second game, they were playing the chasing game but the match completely turned on its head after the mid stages. The Indians played with more purpose and forced the Chinese pair to make unforced errors. Four straight points towards the end quelled any hopes of a fightback from the Chinese pair. During those tense moments, Gayatri revealed that they were looking to stay calm.
"Today (Friday) was a tough match. We were down, trailing...and the second game was also very tricky. We told each other to stay calm. That's what we're going to do tomorrow as well. We just want to go to court and give our 100 per cent. We just want to enjoy it as we did today," Gayatri said.
The Indians had momentum on their side and after a relatively slow start, they walked away with the third essay to reach the promised land. It was a complete dominance in the third game as the Chinese duo just couldn't connect the shuttle with their racquets properly, making mistakes after mistakes.
For Gayatri and Treesa, it was a matter of keeping a calm head and applying the finishing touches. They executed that to perfection. In the end, the scoreline read 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in Gayatri and Treesa's favour. "We were constantly telling each other 'it's not over yet, it's not over yet' because we had a huge lead in the third game but we just kept going." Gayatri said
The last time India had hosted the Worlds, the shuttlers from the country had returned empty-handed.
This (feat) had seemed a distant dream not so long ago. Treesa, who hails from Cherupuzha (a town in Kannur district in Kerala), had suffered an ankle injury just before the Asian Championships, something that had forced her to be away from the sport for some time.
"There's so many ups and downs that we went through all these years. Now we're in great shape now. We just want to continue that," Treesa said
"I got injured three days before the Asian Championships. Obviously, it was sad and emotional, kind of missing those major tournaments, representing India. Those times, Gopi (Pullela) sir, Gaya (Gayatri), my friends, everybody was there to support me. I was just looking to recover as soon as possible. She (Gayatri) was also waiting," Treesa said.
This medal might be a bit of a surprise but they had shown signs of big things in the past by reaching the All England Open semis, not once but twice.
The value of their medal magnified after the exit of their men's counterparts. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who went down 18-21, 9-21 against Liang Weng Keng and Wang Chang of China.
Now, Gayatri and Treesa will be looking to change the colour of the medal on Saturday. It gets tougher for them as they will face another Chinese pairing of Lie Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, who're the No 1 ranked pair in the world.
Given what they have done so far, it will be foolish to rule the Indians out.
