From being promoted from the reserve list to making it to the semifinals of the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships back in 2022, Treesa Jolly, the then-18-year-old shuttler, had a rather unexpected debut at the renowned tournament.
Jolly went on to reach the semifinals of the tournament the subsequent year as well. The young shuttler from Kerala has seen a meteoric rise on the global badminton stage within a span of three years, and Treesa and her partner Gayatri Gopichand have become one of the top women’s doubles players in the world.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Treesa Jolly talks about her experience at the All England Open Badminton Championships, the prospect of clinching a title in her third appearance at the prestigious tournament, and her performance in 2023.
Discussing her chances for a medal at the upcoming All England Open Badminton Championships, Jolly emphasizes the ongoing progression in their game, stating,
“The progression is going on; we are improving, and you know, like against top players, we need to work hard every time we need to get new techniques or new skills; we need to learn so much. I think we believe that if we progress and if we are playing good then we can see [think of winning the title].”
Recalling their debut at the All England, Jolly shares the story of how their coach came to them the night before the tournament, saying they had been pushed from the reserve list and would be playing the next morning.
“I think the first All England was the memorable moment for us; we weren’t [sure]we didn’t know that we will get into [the All England Open]. I think we were in the reserve list. I think, like already, the draw will come. We were in the reserve list, and we were not sure that we will get [in].”
She added that she and her partner had already decided that if they did not get into the draw for All England, they would go shopping and prepare for the next tournament.
“Me and Gayatri decided that anyway there were three tournaments continuous; we played German and All England, then we got the entry for Swiss, so how it worked like if we didn’t get the all England entry, then we would roam around there and go for some shopping, and we will go for Swiss; we will practice here like that.”
However, their fortunes took an unexpected turn. As Jolly narrates,
“But suddenly, that night, Arun, our coach, he came and said to me, you guys got the entry for doubles. Get ready for tomorrow’s match. I think it’s a morning match.”
She added,
“I remember, we were excited, and we had no pressure or nothing. We were excited once we went inside, that all England court the crowd, and I think the view of the court was so good. It was also the first time we were playing All England, and I am so happy that we reached the semi-finals.”
“I think everyone is working hard,”- Treesa Jolly about the competition in women’s doubles
2023 was not the best year for Treesa and her partner, Gayatri, in terms of performance. The duo only made it to one semifinal in almost 17 tournaments.
However, acknowledging the competitive nature of the sport and the need to accept, move on, and focus on the next year, Jolly says,
“I think everyone is working hard, not only us. I think everyone is deserving to win, so the loss, we need to accept it and we need to move on.”
She concluded by saying,
“I think we need to take what happened there and what made us lose that match, and if we get to know that, we need to practice it and we need to progress. Our situation, what made us lose, I think if we improve that.”
2024-01-25 07:55:54
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