Indian flag rises as Treesa-Gayatri receive historic World Championships bronze

India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela clinch bronze in the women's doubles category at the BWF World Championships 2026 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, in New Delhi on August 23, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI The Indian flag rose at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Sunday (August 23, 2026) as Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand received their World Championships bronze, bringing a ceremonial close to a week in which they gave India’s first women’s doubles medal since 2011.“We’ll cherish this medal forever,” Gayatri said. The unseeded pair lost to China’s Liu-Tan in the semifinal after beating reigning Olympic champion Jia Yifan and her partner Zhang Shuxian in the quarterfinals.“We were just so happy after the quarter-final match. And even in the semi-finals match, we gave 100%. It just wasn’t our day,” Gayatri said.For coach Pullela Gopichand, the medal reflected six weeks of work paying off. “It’s good to see when the practice you do actually gives you dividends on court,” he said on Saturday (August 22, 2026).After an injury-hit period that raised questions about their ability to perform at this level, Treesa said their results provided the answer: “We both are here to do something big. What we can show is our result. I think we did that.”They now turn towards the Asian Games, with the Chinese pair still on their minds. “It’s obviously a matter of time. Just believe in yourself that you can beat them,” Treesa said.Gopichand was best placed to understand the significance of this week, watching his daughter win a World Championships medal after receiving the Arjuna Award earlier in the week.“I think whenever my players have played, I’ve always had the same feeling,” he said. “And there’s nothing extra for Gayatri, nothing more than I’ve had for any of my other players.”There was pride, nevertheless. “I’m very proud of her performance and her results. And the way she’s conducted herself,” he said. “With God’s grace, in a family, there are two Arjuna awardees. It’s rare,” he added. Published - August 24, 2026 01:34 am IST