Treesa-Gayatri, Dhruv-Tanisha Suffer Asian Games Quarterfinal Exits
India’s badminton campaign in the doubles events at the Asian Games suffered a setback on Sunday as Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto lost their respective quarterfinal matches in Nagoya.
Treesa and Gayatri went down 18-21, 9-21 against Malaysia’s world No. 5 pair of Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan in the women’s doubles quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Dhruv and Tanisha fought hard before losing 14-21, 21-18, 18-21 to China’s world No. 1 mixed doubles pair, Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping.
Treesa-Gayatri’s Impressive Run Comes to an End
Treesa and Gayatri entered the Asian Games on the back of a historic bronze medal at the World Championships in New Delhi last month.
The Indian duo also recorded two impressive victories over Japan’s world No. 3 pair of Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto before facing the Malaysian combination.
The opening game was closely contested, with the Indians recovering from an early 3-8 deficit to level the score at 10-10. Both pairs continued to trade points, reaching 14-14 before a series of errors allowed the Malaysians to take control.
Treesa and Gayatri saved two game points but eventually lost the opening game 18-21.
The second game proved more difficult. Although the Indians started with a 3-0 lead, the Malaysian pair capitalised on their opponents’ mistakes to establish a commanding advantage.
Treesa and Gayatri trailed 4-11 at the interval, and the Malaysians continued to extend their lead before sealing the match 21-9.
Dhruv-Tanisha Push World No. 1 Pair
In the mixed doubles quarterfinals, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto put up a spirited fight against China’s Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping.
The Indian pair lost the opening game 14-21 but responded strongly in the second, winning 21-18 to force a decider.
However, the Chinese duo regained control in the third game and held on to win 21-18, ending India’s hopes in the mixed doubles event.
Reflecting on the defeat, Tanisha said the pair were disappointed at missing out on a medal but remained proud of their performance.
“It’s very disappointing that we could not win a medal but we are really proud of the effort we both of us have made. We fought till the end, till the last point,” she said.
Tanisha added that the Asian Games had provided valuable lessons and expressed confidence in the pair’s progress.
Dhruv said the Indians had put their opponents under pressure in the second game but felt they could have performed better in the decider.
“We put them under a lot of pressure in the second game. In the third game, the gap was bigger but we came very close, but we could have done better,” he said.
PV Sindhu, Unnati Hooda Set for Quarterfinals
India’s campaign in the badminton singles events continues, with two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and young shuttler Unnati Hooda scheduled to play their women’s singles quarterfinals on Sunday.
Sindhu is set to face China’s Chen Yu Fei, while Unnati will take on Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi.
