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39th-ranked Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand stun 7th-seeded Japanese pair at World Badminton Championships
A comeback, chaos and a statement win: Treesa-Gayatri march into World Championships quarters, overpowering 7th-seeded pair.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand punched above their weight to beat the higher-ranked Japanese pair of Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi at the 2026 Badminton World Championships Round of 16 clash on Thursday. In a match where the pressure was on the 39th-ranked Indian shuttlers against the seventh-seeded Japanese pair, neither Treesa nor Gayatri made it feel like an upset. The box-office clash had everything – intensity, aggression, comeback and, in the end, a win for India.
The final scoreline read 21-16, 21-12, but there was plenty of drama for it to be labelled a box-office clash. It was important for the Indian pair to hold their nerve, especially when things looked tough, but they channelled their aggression brilliantly under pressure.
With this being India's first match of the day, the crowd wasn't large, as most seats around the arena remained empty. But the support for the Indian pair was loud, with the fans backing Treesa and Gayatri with all they had. Every good rally was greeted with a cheer, and the Indian pair fed off that energy.
Treesa, Gayatri turn the tide
The first game started neck-and-neck, with both pairs trying to gain momentum. The Japanese pair managed to get a 16-13 lead and seemed to gain the upper hand. But that was when the Indian pair got aggressive in the middle, sensing their chance for a comeback. And they staged it in some emphatic fashion.
Treesa and Gayatri then ran riot, completely turning the game around and giving the Japanese pair no chance to respond. They claimed eight straight points to take the first game 21-16. The momentum shifted towards the Indian pair, sparking a different kind of aggression. They carried that into the second game, putting the Japanese pair under pressure from the very outset. The Indians kept pushing and attacking, never allowing their opponents to settle.
Nerves mattered just as much as aggression, and the challenge was to channelise that aggression in the right way. Treesa and Gayatri did exactly that. They stayed composed when required, attacked when the opportunity came and finished the job in style, taking the second game 21-12 to seal a memorable win.
They took early control of the second game and showed their supremacy against opponents who were better seeded and expected to win. The intensity kept rising as the game progressed, with India even receiving a yellow card. But it hardly seemed to hamper the Indian pair. If anything, it gave Gayatri a brief moment to catch her breath and recover before the action resumed.
Aggression, composure and coaching advice seal India’s memorable win
It was high on intensity, with tempers flaring midway as an argument forced the umpire to step in. But all of it only fired up the crowd, which had been firmly behind Treesa and Gayatri from the beginning. The two Indian shuttlers came out even stronger as the game entered its business end. They were all over the Japanese pair, refusing to give them any room to make a comeback. The pressure kept mounting, the crowd got louder, and the Indians eventually sealed the win in style.
The communication was on point, and the coach's guidance in calming the players down also played a big role. Gayarti reflected on how they managed to turn the match in their favour, revealing that their coaches’ advice helped them change their approach while she and Treesa were still battling it out. She said the focus was on staying calm while being more aggressive with their attack, which helped them take control of the contest.
"Initially, it was pretty neck-to-neck, but then we looked to our coaches, and they gave us some tips. So, I think we were attacking a lot more in the second half of the first game and the second set. They gave us a few tips that were really helpful mentally and physically... He just told us to stay calm and focus on the attack," Gayatri said after the match.
Their rotations were on point, making it difficult for the Japanese pair to settle into the match. Rotation and attacking have been the duo’s strengths, and Treesa and Gayatri stuck to what they do best to book their place in the quarter-finals. With the World Championships being held in India after 17 years, expectations are rising, and so are the hopes of a medal for the Indian pair.
