New Delhi: When Arun Vishnu was a player, he never liked women’s doubles. Even though he was a doubles player himself, partnering Aparna Balan in mixed doubles, he found it a tad boring to watch.

It was only when he was tasked with managing the newly formed scratch pair of two women’s singles players – Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand – in 2020, his perception changed. He began watching videos of women’s doubles matches, and starting from scratch, went on to build one of India’s finest women’s doubles pairs – Treesa and Gayatri, two generational talents.

On Friday (August 21), the 23-year-old duo scripted a new chapter for Indian badminton by beating Chinese Olympic gold medallist Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian in the quarterfinals, confirming a historic medal – India’s first women’s doubles medal in 15 years and ensuring the country’s Worlds medal streak continued.

But six years ago, when Pullela Gopichand, Gayatri’s father and India’s chief national coach, was looking to steer the country into a new age of badminton after overseeing staggering success in singles and some notable results in men’s doubles, Treesa’s name was not the first to come to mind.

With Gayatri, a promising singles player who had played in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) in 2020, clear about her desire to pursue doubles from the outset of her career, Gopichand needed to find a suitable partner who could complement her game and form a potent combination.

Initially, Rutaparna Panda’s name was considered, but that idea was eventually dropped, and Treesa was brought in to form the pair.

“We had four players at that time: Gayatri, Treesa, Tanisha and Panda. Among them, we had to make two pairs. So, Gopi sir suggested that we should perhaps pair Gayatri with Treesa because Rutaparna was the senior-most. If Gayatri were paired with Rutaparna, it could have become a controversy. So, he didn’t want any controversy. We made Gayatri and Treesa play together. That’s how they started playing together,” Vishnu revealed.

The logic was clear. “Gayatri was the net player, and Treesa, we considered her as a backcourt player. That’s how they were made to pair up,” Vishnu told Sports Now in an exclusive interview.

But for a doubles pair to establish themselves and build consistency, it was easier said than done. Just as important was building a strong bond.

Despite coming from vastly different backgrounds – Treesa from Pulingome, an idyllic village in eastern Kannur in Kerala, trained by her father, a physical education teacher and local volleyball coach, and Gayatri growing up in a famous badminton family in cosmopolitan Hyderabad – they mingled well from their junior days.

“Part of the junior team, they have been traveling together. So, communication was not a problem. They have a good bonding with each other. Even on the court, communication and all is not a problem; there have never been hiccups, you know. So off court also, communication is not a problem, they have a good relation,” said Vishnu.

With both players already training at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, Vishnu, who joined the academy as a player in 2008, gradually developed a better understanding of their games, especially after travelling with the junior teams to a few tournaments. Both showed early promise with their nimble-footed movement and power, and Vishnu began to understand how to best utilise their strengths on court.

Vishnu oversaw the duo’s rise – from their All England Open semifinal run in 2022 to their Badminton Asia Team Championships performance in 2024 – as they climbed to a career-high world ranking of No. 9 in 2025.

“In their partnership, it was quite clear that Treesa is the backcourt player and Gayatri is the net player,” Vishnu said.

Over time, they evolved. At the World Championships in New Delhi, Treesa, known for her explosive and sharp smashes from the backcourt, showcased an excellent net game, producing brilliant wristy flicks, slices and drops, while displaying a telepathic understanding with Gayatri.

Gayatri, meanwhile, improved her smashes while sharpening her net game. This evolution gave both players the confidence to operate in areas where they had previously been less comfortable, allowing them to transition more smoothly between attack and defence.

“When Gayatri is behind, she is quite calmer, and she can control the game a little more from the backcourt; sometimes it helps when Gayatri is behind – some variations, some half smashes, drops, that helps. When Treesa is behind, she is having good pace. So whenever we need full pace and fast attacking, then we can keep Treesa behind. And when we need a little controlled, slow game down, then it’s better to have Gayatri behind,” said Vishnu.

Despite being such a promising pair and always showing the potential to break into the big league, Treesa and Gayatri struggled with injuries. In the lead-up to the Paris Olympics in 2024, Gayatri’s injury resulted in them missing nine tournaments and eventually a spot in the quadrennial event. In 2025, their shoulder discomfort resulted in the pair missing the World Championships in Paris and the Sudirman Cup.

Treesa’s ankle injury on the eve of their departure for the Badminton Asia Championships this year meant another missed tournament. As a result of their stop-start season, their ranking slipped from World No. 9 to 39.

Injury, however, did one good thing for them: it strengthened their bond, with both players understanding, supporting and patiently navigating each other’s recoveries.

Back in form and at optimum fitness, they entered the World Championships unseeded. Yet, they pulled off one upset after another to assure India of a medal. They stunned 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.

Treesa, a prodigious smasher, attacked from the backline, leaving the Japanese and Chinese pairs reeling under her onslaught, while Gayatri, a sharp-minded net slayer, retrieved anything that came her way, showing her solid defence. In a hyper-complicated game, knowing when to slow down and when to pick up the pace is important. Treesa and Gayatri have perfected that, leaving the Japanese and Chinese pairs struggling to absorb it.

Even as the young Indians lost to top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in the semifinals, ending their hopes of a medal of a different colour, their first World Championships medal still gave Indian badminton the joy it had long desired on home soil.

For Vishnu, even as he watched Treesa and Gayatri prevail from afar in Nagpur after parting ways with the pair in January 2025 to stay closer to his family, seeing his former wards achieve the incredible feat was deeply gratifying.

“It gives immense satisfaction to me. I am quite happy for both of them. I have seen their lows when they were injured, including during my time with them. I have seen the tough times and how they struggled with their injuries. I have also sat with them through many good matches, including victories against top-10 pairs. There are many good memories with them. I used to enjoy sitting behind them,” said Vishnu.

The duo is now coached by B. Sumeeth Reddy, another former Gopichand ward.

Their medal run also ushered in a new era for Indian doubles. With Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty medalling at the last two editions, and now Treesa and Gayatri carrying India’s legacy at the World Championships, Indian badminton has entered a new era, emerging from the shadow of their singles peers.

“Now I would say doubles is also equally strong. We have good doubles pairs. In the quarterfinals, we had two doubles pairs: one is Satwik-Chirag and one is Gayatri and Treesa. So our doubles is also doing quite well. If you say at the beginning, it has always been singles. Now, I think doubles players are doing really well,” Vishnu said.

Having said that, Vishnu voiced a concern: “After Gayatri-Treesa, maybe one or two pairs, then the bench strength is not good. Men’s doubles is still okay; women’s doubles, we can do much better.”