New Delhi, August 23: Chief coach Pullela Gopichand believes that the historic bronze medal won by Trisha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand at the BWF World Championships can serve as a significant boost for India’s next generation. He asserts that this young women’s doubles pair will achieve even greater success in the future.
In an exclusive interview, Gopichand stated, “I think they are both young; this is not their only good performance. They have been a top 10 pair. They reached the semifinals of the All England Championships twice and have Commonwealth medals along with two Asian Championship medals. Overall, they have performed well in recent years, but since they are young, they will continue to play for some time. From that perspective, yes, but in terms of the larger ecosystem, I am confident this will boost the confidence of other young players, enabling them to perform well in the future.”
Trisha and Gayatri’s remarkable journey at the World Championships ended in the semifinals when they faced the current champions and top-seeded pair Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, losing 21-18, 13-21, 8-21. Despite the defeat, the Indian duo secured a historic bronze medal, marking India’s first medal in the women’s doubles category at the World Championships in 15 years. The last medal was won by Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in 2011.
This achievement is particularly significant as Trisha and Gayatri faced interruptions in their preparation due to injuries. Earlier this year, Trisha suffered an ankle injury that sidelined her for three months, disrupting their rhythm before the domestic World Championships.
They made headlines by defeating the fourth-seeded pair of Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Jian in the quarterfinals, securing one of the tournament’s most crucial results and ensuring the only medal for the country in this event. Gopichand credited their consistent performance and the entire support team for helping them launch such a remarkable campaign, especially given their lack of tournament experience.
He remarked, “I don’t think there’s any secret behind it; you just have to step onto the court and work hard consistently. Yes, they both have truly worked hard. They have a complete team behind them, whether it’s the strength and conditioning team or the physio team. I believe Sumit, who was there, and everyone overall helped them, and the real point is that they worked hard.”
The chief coach also praised the pair for handling the pressure of playing on the biggest stage, especially during critical moments in their knockout matches. Gopichand noted, “The most important thing is that when you reach a stage where there are people and pressure, you step onto the court and perform your best, and they did just that. Winning those matches when the score is 13-13 or 14-14, or coming back after losing a game, requires a lot of courage. Generally, when people don’t play some tournaments, it takes time for them to bounce back. However, that wasn’t the case here. They stepped onto the court and looked fantastic from the first match.”
He added, “I think Sindhu was close to winning; Unnati was also near victory. After that, Ayush had a great first round. I felt he could win the match too. However, we lost, and perhaps we didn’t have any players in the quarter-final stage, but I believe that with a little more support, this performance could have been even better. But there’s no need for too much concern. I am confident we will see better results at the Asian Games.”
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