India’s top mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto-Dhruv Kapila registered India’s first win at the All England Open with a 21-17, 21-19 win over Malaysians Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin to progress to the second round at the Utilita Arena on Tuesday.
India’s top pairing having slipped to World No 21, were up against one of the five promising Malaysian pairs who have mushroomed in the wake of the iconic Chen-Toh winning the world title. Hoo-Cheng are World No 23, but considered one of the emerging talented pairs. However Dhruv Kapila, who has been nursing niggles for some time now, burst out of the blocks and used the long flat drives to go on a 6-point rally in the opening set that scripted the tone for the rest of the match.
Tanisha, at times error prone, however was scythe when she went across at the net, but both Indians moved well to cross the first hurdle at an arena that played slow on the day.
The Indians kept things compact, but allowed errors to creep in as the Malaysians went from 12-20 to 17-20, and the Indians couldn’t finish off the first set. But having finally put it across, the Indians settled into rhythm – making peace with the chaos of their own up-and-down game.
In the second, things remained tight, and a 14-11 lead didn’t amount to much, as the Malaysians caught up, but Dhruv was finding winners down the middle and Tanisha followed with her pecking prods.
The Indians were in danger of being dragged into a decider, at 17-19, after a couple of mis-hits. But the drive game served the Indians well, before Dhruv fanned out to the back and even brought the shuttle back into play with a pirouette and forced a wide error from the Malaysians to get match point. A Tanisha push though sealed it for India.
Earlier, Malvika Bansod lost 21-11, 21-7 to Chen Yufei.
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Treesa-Gayatri exit
In their first round women’s doubles match, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand frittered a 9-4 lead in the decider, as Japanese Sayak Hirota and Ayako Sakuramoto upped the ante and attacked with ferocity, handing the Indians a 15-21, 21-15, 18-21 loss in Round 1.
Defensive pressure landed by the pair of 30-31 year olds from Japan, got the Indians to clamp up in crunch moments, and a stream of errors after taking the lead dragged the Indians down.
The Japanese played at a scorching pace, and their down attacks elicited weak returns into the net, ending All England rather swiftly for the Indian duo.
Unnati loses 21-12, 21-18
A large part of playing at the All England and the reason why only two Indians have made finals, and none won in last 25 years, is the challenge of playing from the slower side. Unnati Hooda playing her first at Birmingham, found the going tough initially against Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand as she could never shrug off the poor start of 8-14 in the opening set. The youngster found her footing in the second half of the second, and struck a good length, but again found the lead too steep to make up as she lost 21-12, 21-18 in 44 minutes.
Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball.
Professional Profile
Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express.
Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.
Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium.
Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025)
Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond:
Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style.
PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps.
The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals.
Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas.
Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes.
Notable Recent Articles
BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025)
The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025)
Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025)
Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025)
Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025)
Other Sports Interests
Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts.
You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More
