How India's No.1 women’s badminton doubles duo Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly became the perfect pair

The two are now gearing up for the India Open that gets underway on January 16 in New Delhi. Ahead of their first big event of 2024, the two sat down for an interview with CNBC-TV18.com when they talked at length about their journey, their goals in 2024 and a lot more.

Gayatri: They have been great. I just recovered from a groin injury right now. So I am  much stronger now. I have started playing and I am looking forward to the India Open.

Treesa: I think it is going good. (We are) practising hard. It is our first tournament in this year.

Gayatri:  In 2024 I feel like pushing myself to the maximum limit. I just want to be happy enjoying playing, you know, even under difficult circumstances. I feel like I want to just enjoy that as well.

Tressa: We need to play good matches. Then we need to have wins. Hoping for that. The main thing is that we need to do better in this year. To get better, I think playing against the best players and winning against them can boost our confidence.

Tressa: My father introduced me to badminton. He is a physical education (PE) teacher. I think he thought that he should put his kids into badminton or any other sport. At that time everyone used to play badminton I think. My father made a court near my house. That is how I got into badminton.

I have  the  memories of the 2012 Olympics. I remember watching Sania didi (Saina Nehwal) match scores on paper.

I think it is an expensive sport compared to others. (As a rule) at the beginning, we do not get sponsors, which makes things difficult. So it has been a difficult journey for us.

Gayatri: I have heard a few people say so (about expectations). But it never got to me. I don't think my parents ever let that affect me in any way. They always supported me in every way possible. So I have never felt that pressure.

Gayatri: Never. The only thing he has ever told me is to be happy, relax and enjoy the game. You win but that is secondary. That literally doesn't matter. The only thing you should be focused on is to just enjoy what you are doing and be happy. So that is what I learnt from him.

Tressa: I think Gayatri and I met during a tournament. I think we  were playing an under-13 tournament. I saw her playing an under-13 match in Udupi.

We were playing singles at that time. I remember her as a good player and she was performing well then. We used to say that she is Gopi sir's daughter. We played against each other in so many ranking tournaments. We barely talked though, just smiled at each other. When I shifted to the Gopichand Academy, we started to talk.

Tressa: After I joined the academy, in my mind I had to shift from playing singles to doubles. After the lockdown, Gayatri also shifted to doubles. Everyone playing doubles was shuffled. Then, after a while, tournaments also started to come. So for the practice matches, the coaches decided to rotate everyone. That's how we started playing together as a doubles team.

Gayatri: The first semi-final at All England was completely unexpected. I did not expect to play beyond the pre-quarters. Playing the quarter finals itself was huge for me. But after the quarter finals win it was just unbelievable for me because we were just 19 at that time and playing against the world number two was a huge thing for us. Beating them was another thing altogether. So we were really happy. We played the semi-finals again the next year as well  — this time we did expect (to win) as we were in form.

The Commonwealth Games, the bronze medal, that was really special because that is a huge platform for both of us. Yeah, we were super happy after the whole year.

Tressa: More patience. In women's doubles, the (number) rallies and their duration are too high.  So, I think we need to be patient and work on our strokes and learn from your mistakes as fast as possible. I think that will help us to reach the top.

Gayatri: Yeah, definitely. I feel like if there is something on my mind, (I should) communicate and talk it out. We can definitely share ideas with each other. I think that's a good start.

Gayatri: Just by staying disciplined. When I stay disciplined, I get motivated. I make a routine in everything. like the time when I need to get up, time to meditate for a while. And I feel now if I lose a match, I just have to come back stronger. I take lessons on what to do rather than just sit and dwell on defeats.

Tressa: I think about my background. I think that motivates me a lot. And we motivate each other. If we lose the match we speak and we motivate each other. I think that is the best thing from her side.  It is a good thing for me. I am so thankful that I got such a good partner and such a good friend.  If I am down, somebody is there to push me.

Gayatri: I think Teresa is very aggressive. I am really calm on the court and I can't be that aggressive, So maybe I would like to aggressive like her.  In return I would like her to be a bit calm.

Also I feel Teresa is  outgoing. I feel she she can easily talk to people.I feel like I am a bit of an introvert.

Tressa: I think her calmness is something I need to learn. I can't give any quality to her in return as she is perfect.

Tressa: They help us during tours with our training, diet, recovery, for which I am grateful.

Gayatri: It has been great. I feel now I can only focus on playing in tournaments, knowing that the other parts have been taken care of completely. Welspun has been a great support and we are super grateful for this.