Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila marched into the mixed-doubles pre-quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championships 2026 in Ningbo, People’s Republic of China, on Tuesday.
Tanisha and Dhruv, ranked 20th in the mixed doubles, took 51 minutes to beat the world No. 41 pair of Phuwana Horbanluekit and Benyapa Aimsaard from Thailand 21-14, 11-21, 21-15 in their first head-to-head meeting.
After winning the first game convincingly, the Indian badminton players let the momentum slip in the second, allowing the Thai team to draw level.
The third game proved to be a neck-and-neck affair before the change of ends. However, the Indian pair, which went into the interval with a slender 11-10 lead, dominated the duel from there onwards to move into the next round.
Tanisha and Dhruv were the only Indian mixed doubles pair to progress past the first round. They were quarterfinalists at last year’s continental championships, stopping one win short of a medal.
Earlier in the day, India’s Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost to Malaysia’s Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien by a 21-16, 21-15 scoreline in 31 minutes.
The opening game was tightly contested until 13-all, before the Malaysians pulled away with a four-point burst to take control.
In the second game, the Indians showed early promise with a 7-3 lead, but another mid-game surge from Wong and Lim turned the tide.
In another match, eighth seeds and the world No. 11 pair of Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie of Malaysia defeated India’s Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde 21-13, 21-19 in 34 minutes.
The Malaysians dominated the opening game from the outset. The second game saw a spirited response from the Indian duo, who bounced back from a 9-2 deficit to narrow the gap to 13-12 and later push their opponents to 20-19. However, Goh and Lai held firm in the closing stages to wrap up the win.
More Indians will be in action on Wednesday, including PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen in their respective singles categories.
