Superb run takes Treesa-Gayatri into Singapore Open semis

It hasn’t been an easy couple of months for Treesa Jolly and P Gayatri Gopichand. Despite having been the country’s top women’s doubles exponents for the last few years, the world No.30 combine was pipped by new pairing Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto who overtook them in the race to Paris, qualifying for the Olympics.

To add salt to their wounds, results too have not gone in favour of the two 21-year-olds who have suffered multiple early round exits of late, resulting in a poor 12-9 win-loss record going into the $850,000 Singapore Badminton Open.

With the pressure of qualifying for the Olympics now off their shoulders, Treesa and Gayatri played freely on Thursday to stage one of the biggest wins of their young careers as they beat reigning All England and Asian champions Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee in what was their first win in three meetings against the South Korean world No.2 pairing.

The unseeded Indians continued their brilliant run at the Super 750 tournament on Friday by ousting another South Korean pair, winning 18-21, 21-19, 24-22 against world No.6 and 2023 All England champions Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong in the women’s doubles quarter-finals.

It was a stunning comeback from Treesa and Gayatri who were just three points away from defeat trailing 12-18 in the second game after losing the first, but the Indian pair was resolute in defence with Gayatri’s smart deft touches at the net earning several winners to push the match into the decider.

The third game was tight as ever with the Olympic bronze medallists saving three match points, but a fearless approach from Treesa and Gayatri saw them confidently pull off the contest in an hour and 19 minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to earn their first win in two meetings against the sixth seeded Koreans.

"After so long we are playing good matches against seeded players. We’re really happy with the performance. We didn't make many errors, fought on during the longer rallies and didn't give up. We just kept it in, attacked at the net and it worked,” said Treesa.

In the semi-finals – their first since the 2023 All England Open – Treesa and Gayatri will face Japanese fourth seeds Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shifa on Saturday. While the 2022 All England champions have two wins against the world No.30 combo, it was the Indian pairing that came out on top the last time they met at the Asia Team Championships in February.

“We need to focus on our next match. There is no strategy. We just need to give our best and fight against these top players," added Treesa.