There was a quirky – and somewhat ominous – moment for Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto even before the start of the mixed doubles quarterfinals against Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei at the BWF World Championships on Friday. As they walked out onto the court at Adidas Arena, shook hands with the referees and opponents, the mandatory coin toss took place. The Indians won it. As the umpire turned to them, Dhruv said he’d be the one to receive. But Tanisha had her arm pointed towards the other end, looked at Dhruv and suggested they should be picking the far side instead. Eventually, they agreed to receive, and Tanisha nodded as warmups began. It’s not often you see pairs not on the same page at the coin toss.
And after a bright start, the rest of the match reflected that little pre-match misunderstanding. Less than 24 hours after the biggest win of their career against fifth seeds, Dhruv-Tanisha often looked at sea as Chen-Toh asserted their superiority. The Indians couldn’t conjure up another upset and were comfortably beaten 15-21, 13-21 in just 37 minutes. A quarterfinal run at the World Championships is a result they can build on, but the defeat also showed there is work to be done for the pair on and off the court.
On the court, there is little doubt that if they can organise themselves – a word coach Tan Kim Her repeatedly used during the intervals – and play to their strengths, they have the potential to climb the rankings even further than No 17. Off the court, they are aware that there is work to be done in getting better with their mentality. The Indian Express had reported in May that a joint psychologist would be enlisted to help out the pair, but it is learned that the official sessions haven’t begun yet.
Tanisha Crasto & Dhruv Kapila in action during Quarterfinals at the BWF World Championships 2025 in Paris (Credit: Badminton Photo)
“I think the pressure really got to us today, I feel so,” Tanisha told BWF after the match. “We could have done a lot better. It’s a good learning for both of us. It’s not the end, I’m sure there’s something much bigger for us yet to come.”
Dhruv wasn’t hesitant in taking the blame for his part. His backhand crosscourt drives, combined with Tanisha’s aggressive net play, was key to their massive R16 win but both aspects were neutralised by Toh’s sensational frontcourt play and Chen’s power from the backcourt. “I think like we started really well, but when we had a lead, we should have converted it. Eventually, we panicked a bit. Then, the service-return situations, we couldn’t get out of that pretty soon. Also I think I was a bit passive today. I was not getting those attacks, I was just mostly playing downwards today, so yeah, I was totally caught up with that,” the 25-year-old from Ludhiana conceded. “I need to mentally be more prepared, I need to get these wins again to go for the medal, because quarterfinals are not enough every time, you have to get better at it.”
Tanisha Crasto & Dhruv Kapila in action during Quarterfinals at the BWF World Championships 2025 in Paris (Credit: Badminton Photo)
Tanisha, who went to Paris Olympics with Ashwini Ponnappa on the back of a late charge as an unlikely pairing, is a strong believer that mixed doubles is her endgame. This is where she belongs. She had a promising partnership with Ishaan Bhatnagar cut short because of injuries to the latter. Dhruv, after showing a lot of promise in men’s doubles with MR Arjun, is proving himself a capable backcourt attacker in mixed doubles. But there are teething troubles that they must continue to work on and get better. The good news is that the ceiling is certainly high. And they are convinced Paris 2025 is the start of bigger things to come for them.
As Dhruv said: “We were not expecting that big win, but yes, now we know we are capable of beating the top pairs.” And Tanisha added a sign-off note: “I think with experience, I’m pretty sure we’ll have an experience to handle these situations too, and hopefully, next time we’ll come back with a medal.”
