BWF World Championships: Dhruv-Tanisha’s Dream Run Ends in Pre-Quarters

Paris: India’s mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out of the BWF World Championships after a straight-game defeat to Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei in the pre-quarterfinals on Friday.

The Indian duo, seeded 16th, lost 15-21, 13-21, ending what had been their best-ever run at a major tournament. A win would have made them the first Indian mixed doubles pair to secure a World Championships medal.

Dhruv and Tanisha, who got a first-round bye, opened their campaign with a dominant victory over Ireland’s Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan. They then stunned fifth seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong, rallying from a game down to clinch a 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 win and reach the round of 16.

Their fairytale run, however, came to an end against the Malaysians.

India’s campaign in Paris still holds promise with PV Sindhu and the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advancing to the quarterfinals.

Sindhu, a two-time medallist, rolled back the years with a stunning victory over world No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China to book her last-eight berth. She will now face Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani in women’s singles.

Meanwhile, Satwik and Chirag overcame China’s sixth seeds Wang Chang and Liang Wei Keng 19-21, 21-15, 21-17 to enter the quarterfinals, snapping a four-match losing streak against the pair. They now take on Malaysian second seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.

With inputs from IANS