India's mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila, along with world championships bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in women's doubles, were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games on Sunday at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium. The twin defeats leave India without representation in both mixed doubles and women's doubles semi-finals at Hangzhou 2023.

Tanisha-Dhruv Push World No. 1 China Pair to the Limit

Tanisha and Dhruv faced the formidable Chinese combination of world No. 1 Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, eventually going down 2-1 — 21-14, 18-21, 21-18. The Chinese pair dominated the opening game, leading 11-9 at the mid-game interval and closing it out comfortably at 21-14.

The Indians bounced back sharply in the second game, clinching it 21-18 to force a deciding third. In the decider, Feng-Huang raced to a 12-6 lead, but Tanisha and Dhruv clawed back to within two points. That deficit, however, proved just beyond reach as the Chinese pair sealed the match 21-18 and progressed to the semi-finals.

Treesa-Gayatri Fall Short Against Malaysia's Tan-Muralitharan

In the women's doubles quarterfinal, Treesa and Gayatri faced world No. 5 Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia, losing in straight games 21-18, 21-9. The Indians were competitive through much of the first game before conceding four game points and saving only two, with the Malaysians taking the opener 21-18.

The second game saw India make a bright start at 3-0, but they conceded nine consecutive points, handing the momentum to Malaysia. Tan and Muralitharan did not look back, wrapping up the game 21-9 and securing a semi-final berth along with a guaranteed medal.

Sindhu and Unnati Hooda Eye Quarter-Final Progress

Later on the same day, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and teenager Unnati Hooda were set to feature in the women's singles quarterfinals. Sindhu was scheduled to take on world No. 4 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China, while Unnati was drawn against world No. 3 and three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan — a pair of daunting assignments for India's singles hopes.

India's Broader Badminton Setbacks at Hangzhou

The quarterfinal exits compound a difficult campaign for Indian badminton at these Games. Lakshya Sen suffered an early exit from the men's singles event on Saturday, losing to former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the second round. A day earlier, defending men's doubles champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty — gold medallists at Hangzhou 2023 — saw their title defence end in the opening round. This is the most widespread single-tournament exit Indian badminton has seen in recent Asian Games cycles, raising questions about depth beyond the top two or three names.

With Sindhu and Hooda remaining as India's last realistic medal hopes in badminton at these Games, the coming hours will be decisive for the country's shuttle contingent.