images courtesy: Badminton Association of India
It was a day of double celebration for Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. Hours after the Sports Ministry named them recipients of the Arjuna Award, the Indian women’s doubles pair produced a dominant performance to defeat 16th seeds Lauren Lam and Allison Lee of the United States 21-15, 21-12 and advance to the Round of 16 at the BWF World Championships. The unseeded Indians who are ranked 39 in the world needed just 38 minutes to wrap up the contest at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Speaking after the match, both players spoke about the Arjuna Award news that had come earlier in the day. “It feels amazing. I’m super grateful. Winning the Arjuna Award was my dad’s dream for me. He just called me and said, ‘Yeah, you got the Arjuna Award.’ I’m so happy that it’s coming home soon,” Treesa said. (India today)
Gayatri, whose father and coach Pullela Gopichand had received the Arjuna Award in 1999, described it as a proud family moment.
“It feels very special. I just feel very proud. He just called me and said, ‘Yeah, you got the Arjuna Award.’ I’m so happy that it’s coming home soon,” she said. (India today)
On the court conditions, Treesa added: “I think the conditions were very much like yesterday, a bit tricky. But we just wanted to adapt quickly and not get too frustrated. As soon as we got to know how the shuttle was moving, we could play our game better. We were pretty aggressive today, which worked in our favour.” (India today)
Treesa-Gayatri Put on Commanding Show to Reach Last 16
Treesa and Gayatri took control early in the match. They made a confident start in the first game with Treesa’s powerful smashes and Gayatri’s work at the net putting the Americans under pressure. The Indians never let Lam and Lee settle and closed out the opener 21-15. In the second game they raised the intensity again. After a brief early exchange, the pair raced ahead and led 11-4 at the interval. A string of unforced errors from the American side helped but Treesa and Gayatri maintained their aggressiveness and sealed the match 21-12.
This is also the first time the pair has reached the last 16 of the World Championships. Treesa and Gayatri will now compete in the Round of 16 as they look to go deeper into the tournament on home soil. The pair had already won their opening match on Monday and will carry strong momentum into the next round.
