Tanisha, Dhruv revive India’s hopes in mixed doubles with strong performances

New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) The rising duo of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila have sparked renewed hope for India in mixed doubles badminton with a series of strong performances while enjoying every bit of their journey together.

Before the two joined hands post the Paris Olympics, Jwala Gutta and V Diju were India’s best mixed doubles pair, achieving a career-high world ranking of six.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa also made significant strides before parting ways, with the former focusing on men’s doubles alongside Chirag Shetty.

“We played a couple of tournaments before the Olympics and saw a lot of potential in this partnership. I think it was a good decision for both of us to start this journey together,” Tanisha told PTI.

“Dhruv is a very talented mixed doubles player. He has a great understanding of the game, and I enjoy playing upfront. It’s a combination that works well and makes us a dangerous pair.”

Tanisha and Dhruv on Tuesday progressed to the second round of the India Open Super 750 tournament with a 8-21 21-19 21-17 win over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui.

Interestingly, Tanisha, along with Ishaan Bhatnagar, had made a serious push for the Paris Olympics before an unfortunate injury derailed their plans.

“Sometimes, setbacks lead to better opportunities. Mixed doubles is my main focus now. I’m not sure how long Ashwini will continue playing, so I’m fully focused on this event,” said Tanisha, who competed in the Paris Games last summer.

The duo had finished runner-up at Syed Modi Super 300 tournament last December and climbed 13 places to reach world number 56. They also reached the semifinals of couple of Super 100 events in Vietnam and Guwahati last year.

Both Tanisha and Dhruv are seasoned players with notable success at the highest level, albeit with different partners in women’s and men’s doubles.

Dhruv, known for his mixed doubles style even in his junior days, initially played men’s doubles with MR Arjun, with some success.

However, an injury to Arjun led Dhruv to refocus on mixed doubles.

“I wasn’t fully into mixed doubles initially because I didn’t have a partner, and everyone else was already paired up. Arjun and I were playing well, but eventually, I decided to concentrate on one discipline,” Dhruv said.

“Unfortunately, Arjun got injured, but he’s fine now and playing with Vishnu.”

The return of renowned Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her has further boosted their confidence.

“He’s been a great help to both Dhruv and me,” Tanisha said.

“He understands our weaknesses and helps us work on them together. It’s very comfortable talking to him, and he helps us refine our game, both individually and as a pair. It’s been really beneficial for us.”

As for filling the void left by Jwala-Diju, both Tanisha and Dhruv are cautious but optimistic.

“We need to improve further. We can’t set expectations too high just yet,” Dhruv said.

“Our focus is on this year. We’re taking it step by step — starting with performing well in Super 500 and 700 events.

“We aim to reach the quarter-finals and semi-finals. We’re not there yet, but we’re learning from every tournament, and our short-term goal is continuous improvement over the next few months.”