Chinese and Malaysian pairs end India’s medal hopes in mixed and women’s doubles at Ichinomiya
Ichinomiya, Sept 2026 : India’s Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila, along with world championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, bowed out of the Asian Games badminton competition after suffering quarterfinal defeats here on Sunday.
In mixed doubles, Tanisha and Dhruv put up a strong fight against world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping of China before losing 21-14, 18-21, 21-18 in a closely contested encounter.
The Chinese pair controlled the opening game and went into the mid-game interval with an 11-9 advantage. Feng and Huang stepped up their intensity after the break and pulled away to take the game 21-14.
The Indian pair responded well in the second game, keeping the contest close and eventually securing an 18-21 win to force a deciding game.
Feng and Huang made a fast start in the decider, opening up a 12-6 lead. Tanisha and Dhruv fought their way back into contention and reduced the deficit to just two points, raising hopes of another comeback.
However, the Chinese duo held their nerve in the closing stages and finished the match 21-18 to book their place in the semifinals.
In the women’s doubles quarterfinal, Treesa and Gayatri were beaten 21-18, 21-9 by Malaysia’s world No. 5 pair Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.
The Indians stayed level with their Malaysian opponents for much of the opening game. However, Tan and Muralitharan created four game points towards the end and converted the third opportunity after India managed to save two, taking the game 21-18.
Treesa and Gayatri began the second game positively, moving 3-0 ahead. The Malaysians, however, responded with a nine-point run that shifted the momentum decisively in their favour.
Tan and Muralitharan continued to dominate the rallies and built a substantial advantage before closing out the second game 21-9. The victory sent the Malaysian pair into the semifinals and assured them a medal.
India’s singles campaign remains alive, with two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and youngster Unnati Hooda scheduled to compete in the women’s singles quarterfinals.
Sindhu faces China’s world No. 4 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Chen Yufei, while Unnati takes on Japan’s world No. 3 and three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi.
India’s men’s singles campaign, meanwhile, ended earlier when Lakshya Sen lost to former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the second round.
A day earlier, Hangzhou 2023 men’s doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty had also suffered an opening-round defeat, bringing their title defence to an early end.
