BWF World Championships: Disappointing day for India as PV Sindhu, Dhruv-Tanisha exit

It turned out to be a disappointing day for India at the BWF World Championships in Paris, as two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were knocked out of the tournament after losing their respective quarterfinals.

All eyes will now be on the Indian men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who will lock horns with Malaysian second seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the quarterfinals later in the night. The Indian pair stormed into the last eight after registering a 19-21, 21-15, 21-17 win over sixth seeds Wang Chang/Liang Wei Keng, stopping a sequence of four straight losses to the Chinese.

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Meanwhile, Sindhu, who produced a version right out of her best years to take down one of the pre-tournament favorites, world No. 2 China’s Wang Zhi Yi, to reach the quarterfinals, failed to continue the momentum in the women’s singles quarterfinal against Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani.

The 30-year-old Indian, a five-time World Championship medallist, crashed out of the tournament after suffering a 14-21, 21-13, 16-21 defeat to the World No. 9 Indonesian shuttler.

The 15th-ranked Sindhu, who went into the quarterfinal with a 2-2 head-to-head record against Wardani, failed to find the rhythm in the opening game. She, however, made a resounding comeback in the second to push for a decider. The third game turned out to be a close affair, but the higher-ranked Waradni eventually prevailed.

Waradni, who has now secured a medal, will face world no. 5 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semifinal slated to be held on Saturday.

End of Dhruv-Tanisha’s fairytale run

Earlier in the day, India’s mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out of the BWF World Championships after a straight-game loss to the Malaysian duo of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei.

Dhruv-Tanisha, who were just one win away from becoming the first Indian mixed doubles duo to secure a medal at the World Championships, lost 15-21, 13-21 against the Malaysians. This is the best-ever show for the Indians at a major event so far.

The 16th-seeded Indian duo, who received a bye in the opening round, began their campaign with a comprehensive win over the Irish duo Joshua Magee and Moya Ryan. They then pulled off an upset against fifth-seeded Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong. Coming from behind, after losing the opening game, the Indians held their calm and composure to seal the tie 19-21, 21-12, and 21-15 to reach the quarterfinals.