India, Aug. 22 -- When Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand smashed their way to guarantee themselves a BWF World Championships medal, they ended a 15-year wait in Indian badminton.

Not since August 2011 had an Indian women's doubles pair stood on the podium. That benchmark was set by Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, the pair not only ending a 28-year medal drought for India (after Prakash Padukone's bronze in 1983) but kick-started the streak of India returning with at least one medal from every World Championships since.

As a new generation claims the spotlight, the pioneers reflected on a campaign that defied the odds and silenced critics in an era when their discipline was heavily marginalized. On Saturday, Treesa and Gayatri finishe...