Sindhu, Dhruv-Tanisha pair reach BWF Badminton World Championships 2025 quarterfinals

Former champion P. V. Sindhu, and the mixed doubles duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced to the quarterfinals of the BWF Badminton World Championships in Paris on Thursday.

The 30-year-old Sindhu, a five-time World Championships and a two-time Olympic medallist, stunned World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China 21-19, 21-15 in 48 minutes. The Indian hasn’t dropped a game in her three matches at the event.

A five-time World Championships medallist, Sindhu made a bright start in the opening game, racing to an 11-6 lead at the mid-game interval with a flurry of sharp smashes and net winners.

Wang fought back strongly to level at 19-19, but the Indian held her nerves to pocket the game.

In the second game, Sindhu kept up the pressure, once again opening up a 11-6 cushion at the break.

A stunning 57-shot rally briefly tested her, but she regained control with decisive attacking play, closing out the match.

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The Indian has now won all of her eight matches against Chinese opponents at the World Championships.

World No. 15 Sindhu will take on ninth-seeded Indonesian Putri Kusuma Wardani in the quarterfinals. She has faced the 23-year-old Wardani four times with the head-to-head record being 2-2.

Dhruv and Tanisha came from behind to defeat Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 in 63 minutes. World No. 5 Tang and Tse are the reigning Asian Champions and two-time World Championships bronze medallists.

“We prepared better this time. More importantly, we didn’t give up at any point of match. Even after being down after the first set, we didn’t let it get to us. But, in fact, we fought back even harder even in the second and third games. We kept pushing each other till the end. That was the real game changer today,” said Tanisha.

Dhruv-Tanisha pair is one win away from becoming the first-ever Indian mixed doubles duo to bag a medal at the World Championships. It will take on Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei on Friday for a place in the semifinals.

Later in the day, the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang in the round of 16.

(With PTI inputs)

Published on Aug 28, 2025