New Delhi [India], August 24 (ANI): Badminton legend Saina Nehwal praised Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand for their confident and composed performance that earned India a women's doubles bronze at the recently concluded BWF World Championships 2026.
Speaking to ANI, Nehwal said she had hoped India would win more medals in the singles events, but expressed pride in the duo's achievement and praised their confidence and composure under pressure.
Jolly and Gopichand secured a bronze medal after their spirited challenge against world No. 1 Chinese pair Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning ended in a three-game defeat in the women's doubles semifinals of the BWF World Championships 2026.
"I am really happy that we are performing well across all categories, and this time it was the women's doubles that delivered. Trisha and Gayatri put in such a powerful performance. I was hoping we would win medals in singles as well because we are capable of doing it. We have achieved so much at the World Championships and the Olympics, where we have won medals. I was expecting more medals for India this time, but I am extremely proud of Trisha and Gayatri. They played with tremendous confidence and showed great composure under pressure," Nehwal told ANI.
Treesa and Gayatri, ranked 39th in the world, had accounted for three seeded pairs to reach the semifinals, ending India's 15-year wait for a women's doubles medal since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa achieved that feat back in 2011.
Nehwal also backed Tanvi Sharma, Unnati Hooda, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty as players to watch at the next Olympics, while also highlighting PV Sindhu's established credentials.
She wished the emerging stars success and hoped they would continue performing at the highest level.
She added, "At the moment, I would say Tanvi Sharma and Unnati Hooda are doing extremely well, while Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty are also performing very well. PV Sindhu is already an established name. So, these are the players we should be looking forward to in the next Olympics. I wish all of them the very best and hope they continue to perform at the highest level." (ANI)
"They played with tremendous confidence": Saina Nehwal hails Treesa-Gayatri's BWF World Championships bronze
