'We Do Believe That We Can Be World Champions': Gayatri Gopichand Dreams Bigger After Historic World Championships Bronze

For Gayatri Gopichand, the bronze medal at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi is more than just a historic achievement. It is a sign that she and Treesa Jolly are beginning to believe they belong among the world’s best. Their campaign ended with a fighting three-game semifinal loss to China’s world No. 1 pair Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, but the medal brought India its first women’s doubles World Championships medal in 15 years.

What makes the achievement even more significant for Gayatri is the journey she has taken to reach this stage. Once a singles player, she made the switch to doubles and has since formed a partnership with Treesa that has steadily grown in confidence and stature. After a breakthrough run that included important victories over top pairs, the World Championships bronze has given the duo a belief that the ultimate prize may not be beyond their reach.

Excerpts from the interview:

Do you now believe you and Treesa can become world champions?

I think over the couple of years we’ve played some really good matches and gained confidence. Even after the Philippines challenge, I think it definitely brought momentum and we started believing in ourselves a lot more coming into the World Championships. Somewhere, I didn’t expect to win the bronze medal. I just wanted to get on court, give my 100 per cent, enjoy myself and see what happens. Definitely, somewhere down the line, we do believe that we can be world champions.

What makes your partnership with Treesa special?

She’s a super fun person to hang out with. Even on court, I think we complement each other. She’s aggressive and she brings that presence on court. It’s very easy. It’s very fun.

When you lose, is your father your coach or simply your dad?

I think he’s the same with everyone. When we lose a point, sometimes he’s very strict. And I don’t think he’s any different with me on court.

What is the biggest gap between you and the world’s best pairs?

Sometimes we’ve played the top pairs in the world. We’ve beaten them and we’ve lost sometimes. The wins and losses keep happening. But I think for us at this point, we just need to be a little bit more patient when we’re playing against the world No. 1 and No. 2 pairs. They’re just not going to give easy points. They’re a level higher than the rest of the pairs. We just need to be a little bit more patient when we play against them. Even in the semifinals, I think after the first set, somewhere we lost our patience a little bit. We just wanted quick points and it wasn’t happening.

If the 15-year-old Gayatri could see you today with a World Championship medal, what do you think she would say?

I think she wouldn’t believe it at first. Also, I don’t think she would have believed that Gayatri shifted from singles to doubles. So that as well. I think she’d be really proud and really happy.

How important is the Olympic dream for you and Treesa?

There are a couple of important tournaments. The World Championships and now the Asian Games are coming up, so that is pretty important as well. The Olympics is definitely a dream for everyone. We’re just looking forward to the 2028 Olympics. Hopefully, we make it.

Has this World Championship medal changed your ambition for the next two years?

Changed, I wouldn’t say. But I think it’s definitely made me a lot more confident. After the last year with the injuries and stuff, to come back and win a medal has definitely made us more confident. We’re pretty confident that things can be different from now on.

What is the one piece of advice from your father that you keep hearing in your head during difficult matches?

I think throughout this tournament, he’s just told the both of us to be calm. Even in the videos, if you can tell, he’s only telling us to be calm and just enjoy ourselves. So I think that’s it.