A historic campaign for Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand ended with a fighting defeat in the women's doubles semifinal of the BWF World Championships in New Delhi on Saturday, but the Indian duo still walked away with a landmark bronze medal.

The unseeded Indians went down 21-18, 13-21, 8-21 to China's top-seeded and defending champions Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.

Treesa and Gayatri started strongly and took the opening game, raising hopes of another major upset on home soil, but the Chinese pair gradually found their rhythm and took control of the contest.

After losing the second game, the Indians struggled to match the pace and precision of the world No. 1 pair in the decider.

Liu and Tan pulled away early and maintained their advantage to close out the match in one hour and 11 minutes.

Despite the semifinal loss, Treesa and Gayatri have achieved a major milestone for Indian badminton.

Their bronze is India's first women's doubles medal at the World Championships since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won bronze in London in 2011.

They are only the second Indian women's doubles pair to finish on the World Championships podium.

The medal also caps an impressive run for the Indian pair, who entered the tournament unseeded.

Their biggest victory came in the quarterfinals, when they recovered from losing the opening game to defeat China's fourth-seeded Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian 16-21, 21-15, 21-13.

That comeback not only sent them into the last four but also ended India's 15-year wait for a women's doubles medal at the prestigious tournament.

Although the final proved beyond their reach, Treesa and Gayatri leave New Delhi with a result that could prove significant for the future of Indian women's doubles.

Their run has placed them among the country's leading pairs on the biggest international stage and delivered a historic medal in front of a home crowd.