For three quarters of an hour, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly were hard-core professionals, not conceding an inch on the badminton court en route to a historic maiden win at the Syed Modi India International. Post that, they were just two 21-year-olds, smiling widely with surprised expressions at the magnitude of their achievement.
“I feel so happy, I have no words. I always saw on television that players were winning such tournaments and always dreamt of doing so myself one day. I am just shocked,” Treesa laughed. Having finished as runner-up here two years back, the duo was determined to go one better this time around.
“I think we were positive. The whole week has been very intense with the matches. The semifinals, too, against the Thai pair was very tough and challenging, it feels unreal,” Gayatri added.
As the first Indian women’s pair to win the competition since its inception in 2009, happiness was expected, but the semifinal win had given them the confidence to go all the way. “The first game was close, and anyone could have won, but we listened to the coaches and I think we were able to implement the strategy we had before the match and execute our plans well. More than anything else, we just wanted to win very badly and kept moving, not giving up at any point,” Gayatri said.
While the No. 1 spot is the ultimate target, up next for the duo will be the BWF World Tour Finals and, as the only Indian presence in the competition, they know there will be expectations. “Pressure will always be there. But I am just looking forward to playing all the top players. I have always watched all this, and now it’s happening to us. I’m excited,” Treesa admitted.
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P V Sindhu, meanwhile, sent out a warning to the youngsters hoping to replace her as Indian badminton’s numero uno. “I am going to play for at least for a couple of years more. I think the younger generation is doing well, but my aim will be to not give them a chance to beat me or win easily. I’ll give my 100 percent and not give them easy chances. They will have to earn their victories,” she laughed.
She admitted it was a relief to finally get a win under her belt after a barren season. “It was very important to get this win. I was close at times and had good matches, but it didn’t turn into a wins. So yes, I am relieved and what can be better than to finish the year on a high? I think this will give me a lot of confidence. Being 29, I think it is also an advantage since I have a lot of experience.
“There will be events next year – Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Thailand – and I will have to be smart in choosing the tournaments. The main goal is to stay injury-free,” she added.
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