Courtesy: X
In an exciting update, Commonwealth Games bronze medal winning pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have successfully secured their spot at the BWF World Tour Finals 2024 in the women's doubles category. The finals, which will be held in China next month, will feature some of the top performers in the sport in five different categories. For the Indian pair, it was quite a surprise since they didn't anticipate making it to the finals.
Expressing her excitement, Treesa Jolly said, 'I think it is a blissful feeling to participate in such a prestigious tournament. We have watched all the top players compete in this event on TV, so to actually be one to qualify and participate is incredible. I mean, we feel so lucky and happy to have been selected for Hangzhou.' “Honestly, the feeling of making it to the BWF Finals hasn’t sunk in yet. It is an amazing feeling, for sure. This was not on our charts at the start of the year. Couldn’t believe we made it really,” says Gayatri, daughter of former All England champion and now chief national coach P. Gopi Chand.
Jolly-Gopichand clinched prestigious qualification through consistent performance
Despite facing an early exit from the China Masters 2024, the duo's consistent performances throughout the season helped them stay among the top eight pairs in the rankings, which would mean that they will be a part of the BWF World Tour Finals 2024. For a doubles pairing that began playing after Covid-19, Gayatri and Treesa have been performing well without much fanfare compared to other top players.
The Indian badminton pair had a remarkable season, including semifinal finishes at the Singapore Open and Macau Open. Although they narrowly missed reaching the finals in these tournaments, their overall performance was strong enough to book their berth in the prestigious year-end tournament. Moreover, the pair faced quite a challenge during the pre-quarterfinals at the recent China Masters, losing 16-21, 11-21 to the world No. 1 duo of Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning.
This qualification plays a significant role as India's PV Sindhu is the only Indian badminton player to win the BWF World Tour Finals in 2018. For Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the upcoming BWF World Tour Finals 2024 would be an exciting event and could finish the year with glory.
