Ice cream and lunch – simple pleasures that Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are craving after scripting history over the last week at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi.

The unseeded duo, competing in their first major event since Treesa’s ankle injury, secured a bronze medal after going down to top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China in a gruelling three-game semifinal at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday (August 22).

Despite taking the opening game 21-18, the Indians failed to build on their momentum and lost the next two 13-21, 8-21. As frustration crept in, their returns began finding the net. A brilliantly crafted opening game gave way to a battle at the net, where the Indians repeatedly faltered, particularly after taking an 11-10 lead at the interval.

‘We could have converted’

Liu and Tan turned the match around by slowing the pace and relying more on flat rallies.

Gayatri admitted that they needed to be more patient in the second game, particularly after taking an 11-10 lead at the interval.

“In the second game, they played very patiently. I think we couldn’t match that. But it happens. They played very well in the first game. Treesa was playing pretty well from the backcourt. If I had supported her a little more from the net, I think we could have pulled off the second set. But also, in the third game, there were some points that we could have converted, but we didn’t have the rhythm,” Gayatri said while speaking to the media.

The Indian duo made a promising start by stealing the opening game. They were cruising in the second game until the mid-game interval, before Liu and Tan disrupted their rhythm.

With the Indians struggling to execute their shots and repeatedly finding the net, Treesa and Gayatri’s rhythm and confidence began to unravel, while the reigning Chinese champions grew stronger.

“Playing with these Chinese players, I feel like we were a bit more confident in the first game. Even when we were leading in the first half, then they covered into 11-7, they just took the break. And again we covered them, we caught the scoring close to them.

“I think at that time we were much more confident and we were able to stay close to them. But in the second game, we lost our rhythm. We made a few mistakes after the interval and started doubting our shots. We became more defensive, but we cannot play against them that way,” said Treesa, who put several shots into the net.

Despite the semifinal setback, the duo are happy to join the select group of Indian players to have won Worlds medals. Treesa and Gayatri are the only women after Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to win a Worlds medal, and the first Indian women’s doubles pair since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa to achieve the feat. Jwala and Ashwini won bronze at the 2011 Worlds.

Treesa and Gayatri enjoyed a remarkable week in New Delhi, stunning seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in the Round of 16 before overcoming fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian in the quarterfinals.

“First of all, I would like to thank the team behind us. We would like to take them for lunch to celebrate the moment,” Treesa said, adding, “I didn’t have cream and sugar for so long.”

“If you see the whole week, it has been amazing. I feel like we have caused so many upsets. And I think it has been such a great week for us. We have played so many great matches and have so much to take away from this tournament,” Treesa added.

Having won their maiden Worlds medal, Treesa and Gayatri – both 23 – remained focused on what lies ahead.

“There is a lot of journey we have in future. I feel like this is just a start. We just need to take this as a positive and in a confident way,” Treesa said.