India’s mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila continued their strong run at the Taipei Open, advancing to the quarterfinals on Thursday. The duo displayed impressive form, dispatching the Chinese Taipei pair of Ko-Chi Chang and Yen Yu Lin in just 33 minutes with a score of 21-13, 22-20. Crasto and Kapila’s victory in the round of 16 sets up a quarterfinal clash against the Thai duo of Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Phataimas Muenwong. Earlier in the tournament, they had overcome the local pair of Liao Chao Pang and Lin Yu Hao in the opening round.
However, India’s hopes in the men’s singles competition were dashed as both Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Sankar Subramanian suffered second-round exits. Karunakaran fell to Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Kuan Lin in a close encounter, losing 19-21, 19-21. Meanwhile, Subramanian faced a tough opponent in the second-seeded Lin Chun-Yi, ultimately falling short with a score of 22-24, 12-21.
The mixed doubles pair’s success at the Taipei Open offers a glimmer of hope for Indian badminton, while the men’s singles losses highlight the need for continued improvement in the upcoming tournaments.
