New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Gayatri Gopichand described India’s historic World Championships campaign as an “amazing journey” and admitted to being overwhelmed by the emotions surrounding the achievement after she and Treesa Jolly secured a landmark bronze medal despite their semifinal exit.

The Indian duo’s fairytale run came to an end as defending champions Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning of China came from behind to defeat them 18-21, 21-13, 21-8 in the semifinals.

Despite the loss, Treesa and Gayatri won India’s first women’s doubles medal at the World Championships after 15 years, since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won bronze in 2011.

“I think it’s been amazing. I think it’s been an amazing journey,” Gayatri told IANS.

The Indian duo came into the tournament without much momentum after injury setbacks, with Treesa’s ankle injury earlier this year sidelining her from competition for three months. But their performances at the Philippines Challenge gave them the belief they could take on the best in the world

“I think coming to this tournament, we just wanted to believe in ourselves and I feel like after Philippines Challenge, I think the momentum was there,” Gayatri said.

“So we were pretty confident after the way we played that tournament because we've also beat some good pairs there. So coming to this tournament, we were confident that we could play this level.”

Treesa and Gayatri then followed up that confidence by beating pairs from Spain and the USA in the early rounds before pulling off one of the biggest results of the tournament in the quarterfinals where they stunned fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian of China to assure themselves of a medal.

“Even in the first few rounds, I think we've played against Spain, USA and all of them were doing great at this level, at the highest level,” Gayatri said.

“So after beating those pairs, I think we've got even more confident because they're playing a great badminton.”

The Indians then gave top seeds Liu and Tan a tough fight in the semifinal. Treesa and Gayatri fought back from 18-21 down to level the second game at 10-all but the Chinese pair raised their game to force a decider and dominated the final game.

“We didn’t have any expectations going into the quarterfinal and we just focused on executing our game plan,” said Gayatri.

“Even the quarterfinal, I think when I was getting on court, I didn't have any expectations because we've played them before and I think they're not going to give easy points,” she said.

“So after the first set, I think we've changed a few tactics and we stayed patient, stick to our plan, didn't do anything out of the box. So I think it worked for us and we're super happy with the bronze medal.”

The medal was also a stunning comeback for Treesa whose injury had interrupted the pairing’s season. The achievement was even more special for Gayatri, thanks to the support and energy of her partner on court.

“Definitely. But sometimes also, I'm also like surprised. I'm shocked when she's shouting and I'm like scared also sometimes,” Gayatri said with a smile.

“But I think that definitely boosts my confidence as well and her presence on court is amazing.”

With support from the home crowd, the occasion was even more emotional, with Gayatri admitting she had not expected the stadium to be packed.

“It's been a mix of all emotions, I think. Very emotional, super happy and a lot of emotions,” she said.

“Even getting in the stadium yesterday, I think the whole stadium was packed. I didn't expect that. I was just so happy because badminton is finally getting the recognition that it deserves.”

--IANS

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