New Delhi, August 22: In a gripping semifinal at the BWF World Badminton Championships 2026, the Indian women’s doubles pair of Trisa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand faced a tough defeat against the reigning champions from China, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning. The match concluded with scores of 21-18, 13-21, and 8-21, leaving the Indian duo to settle for a bronze medal.
Trisa and Gayatri aimed to become the first Indian pair to reach the finals of the women’s doubles at the World Championships. However, the Chinese team proved to be a formidable opponent, shattering their dreams of making history.
Despite the disappointing end to their remarkable journey, Trisa and Gayatri celebrated their historic bronze medal. This achievement marks India’s first women’s doubles medal at the World Championships in 15 years, following the bronze won by Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in 2011.
After the semifinal loss, Trisa remarked, “Today was not our day. We won the first game and were in control during the first half of the second game. Then, the Chinese pair found their rhythm, and we lost ours. They built a lead and outscored us, and we couldn’t recover. Their patience also helped them.”
Gayatri Gopichand noted that they rushed their plays, while the Chinese pair exhibited great composure. She stated, “They were very calm. We were just… rushing. We wanted points too quickly. We lacked patience today. We needed to be more patient because they are world number one and wouldn’t easily give away points. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic match. We are happy with how we played; it just wasn’t our day.”
Previously, PV Sindhu and Ayush had also discussed the importance of patience in high-stakes matches. Trisa emphasized that at this level of competition, control and alertness are crucial for every point. She explained, “When you play at such a high level, you need to be in control and alert for every point. If you blink, it feels like five points have slipped away. That’s what sets world number one players apart. They played with precision, maintaining their rhythm and being aggressive at the net. I believe today was not in our favor. If we had regained our rhythm in the second half of the second game, we might have turned the match around.”
India won the first game 21-18, but in the second game (13-21), Trisa and Gayatri struggled to challenge the Chinese players. The decisive third game was one-sided, ending at 8-21.
Gayatri Gopichand remarked, “The Chinese pair was both aggressive and patient. We were too focused on scoring points. At one point, we became overly defensive.”
Reflecting on their journey at the World Badminton Championships, Gayatri described the week as fantastic. “We played against some excellent pairs and learned a lot from every match. We’ve gained valuable lessons from this loss as well. We are just looking ahead.”
Recently, Trisa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand were selected for the Arjuna Award, and shortly after, they secured the bronze at the World Badminton Championships. Trisa shared, “This week, we received both the medal and the Arjuna Award. Clearly, the Arjuna Award boosted our morale throughout the tournament. The Asian Games are coming up, but we should enjoy this medal first. I need to be more patient while attacking and use more variations against these players. I will work on bringing more variation into my strokes for next time.”
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