Tereesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand continued their underdog story and confirmed India’s first medal at the BWF World Championships 2026. The Indian pair went down in the first game but produced a comeback for the ages, winning the next two games as the final scoreline read 16-21, 21-15, 21-13 in India’s favour. It was a performance they can be extremely proud of in their quarterfinal against fourth-seeded Zhang Shuxian and Jia Yifan.
Zhang and Jia showed throughout the match why they are among the world’s top five, but the Indian shuttlers refused to let them dictate the contest for long. The balance kept shifting from one side to the other, like a pendulum, as both pairs fought for control and the crowd stayed behind the Indians. Even when the Chinese pair had the upper hand, Tereesa and Gayatri kept finding a way back into the contest. It was pleasing to see a big turnout at the Indira Gandhi Arena for an afternoon match, with two young shuttlers fighting hard to keep India’s medal hopes alive in the women’s category. The first game was a proper underdog story, with the Indian shuttlers struggling at the start as the Chinese pair established a solid lead. However, when their backs were against the wall, Gayatri and Tereesa managed to calm themselves down and launch a comeback in the middle phase. The game went down to the wire, with the crowd throwing its full support behind the Indian pair. Their smashes, drop shots and cheeky flicks were causing plenty of problems early on, but Gayatri and Tereesa slowly started finding ways to counter them. The intensity only grew from there, with powerful smashes coming from the Indian side and the crowd responding to every point.
They fought their way back to 14-16, bringing the packed arena into the contest. But the topsy-turvy battle saw the Chinese pair turn the momentum back in their favour at the crucial stage to take the opening game 21-16. The momentum stayed with China at the start of the second game as Zhang and Jia raced to a 5-1 lead. For the first time in the match, Gayatri and Tereesa then moved ahead, making it 11-10.
It was another show of resilience and belief from Tereesa and Gayatri as they showed true character in a battle where not many gave them a chance before the clash.
