All England: Gayatri and Treesa’s two successive semi-final appearances is a good sign for Indian badminton

But Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly have done that. Yes, they had reached the semi-finals of the All England Open in 2022 also, but it was a different world back then with Covid-19 still dominant and many shuttlers failing to make it to Birmingham. This year, however, the field is very strong. Yet, they made it again. Beating multiple top 10 pairs en route, Gayatri and Treesa have done the improbable.

For the record, they have beaten five top 10 pairs since the Badminton Asia Mixed Championships in February. But that’s just a statistic. What is more important is to understand ‘how’? How, after falling early in nine out of the ten Super Series events in the last twelve months, did the pair turn things around in February and haven’t stopped since? What really worked for them? Ask Gayatri the ‘how’ question and she smiles. Treesa immediately jumps in and mentions their training sessions with Pullela Gopichand, Gayathri’s father.

“It helped us a lot,” Treesa says. “All my father said to us was ‘Have fun’,” Gayatri adds.

Gopi has something similar to say. “Why do things have to be complicated? Sport is not complicated. You do the simple things right and you will see it works. That’s all we did. The endeavour is to keep things simple. They are just 19-20 years old. They need to enjoy what they are doing. If they do, they will want to push that much harder,” Gopi says.

Arun Vishnu, who is with the pair in Birmingham, is more specific. “The subtle changes in the training regime helped the girls. They are not anything big and yet the impact is for all to see. They now have the confidence that they can beat any top team. That’s the biggest positive in the last month and a half,” he says.

Gayatri and Treesa are still a work in progress; two youngsters who are still cutting their teeth at the highest levels of international sport. But what is clearly going for them is their determination. Gayatri was paired with Treesa because Gopi was once afraid he would be accused of nepotism if his daughter played with someone already established. And maybe it was a decision that changed the course of women’s doubles in India.Can the two keep getting better and mount a serious challenge in Paris? Gayatri and Treesa are hopeful. “We will keep giving our 100 percent. We are not worried about results,” Treesa says. Gopi, too, is cautiously optimistic.

“The results in Birmingham show they belong at this level. That’s the biggest positive. You know they are improving consistently and with age on their side they can think of playing at the highest stage for many years to come,” he says. With Mathias Boe and Arun Vishnu with them on the tour and Gopi in Hyderabad when they come back to the academy, there are reasons to be hopeful.

In 2022, whenever Gayatri and Treesa lost close matches, Gopi would request patience. “Their time will come. Gayatri will get better in defence and Treesa will sharpen her attacking skills,” he would say. And they have. The Japanese pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota, former world No. 1, were blown away by Treesa’s smashes and Gayatri’s net play in the round of 16. The Indians, All England is proof, have arrived.