Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have moved into the quarterfinals of the World Championships as they continue their comeback run. The unseeded Indian pair produced a strong performance on Thursday to beat Japanese seventh seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi 21-16, 21-12. The victory came after Treesa returned from injury and the pair began their campaign without a seeding.

Their next challenge is even tougher, with fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shuxian of China waiting in the quarterfinals. The match is scheduled for around 1.50 pm on Court 1 on Friday. Treesa and Gayatri are now just one win away from reaching the semi-finals, which would put them within one step of a medal.

With PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty eliminated in the singles events, the pressure on India’s doubles combinations has increased. Treesa and Gayatri will now look to continue the run that has taken them into the last eight.