BWF World Championships: Treesa-Gayatri misses shot at final, lose to defending champions to clinch bronze

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand capped off a remarkable World Championships campaign by securing a historic bronze medal, despite falling short in a hard-fought three-set semifinal against China's top-ranked defending champions, Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, on Saturday.

The unseeded Indian duo shocked the world No. 1 pair early on by snatching the opening game. However, the Chinese powerhouses rallied back to take control, eventually overpowering Treesa and Gayatri 18-21, 21-13, 21-8 in a grueling 71-minute battle.

Despite the semifinal exit, the bronze marks a monumental achievement for Indian badminton, ending a 15-year drought in the women's doubles event at the tournament—the nation's first podium finish in the category since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa's bronze in London back in 2011.

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