New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): The mixed doubles pairing of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the ongoing BWF World Championships at New Delhi on Wednesday.
Crasto and Kapila outclassed the pairing of Leong Iok Chon and Ng Weng Chi from Macau by 21-11, 21-11 in their round of 32 match.
The day three of the competition will feature the men's doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan/MR Arjun, women's singles stalwart PV Sindhu and Unnati Hooda, men's stars Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty and the men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in action.
Earlier, Lakshya Sen produced a commanding comeback to lead India's charge on Day 2 of the competition, defeating Austria's Collins Valentine Filimon in three games at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.
Sen recovered from a slow start to beat Filimon 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 in 45 minutes and advance from the men's singles Round of 64.
In women's singles, Unnati Hooda also progressed after overcoming Myanmar's Thet Htar Thuzar 22-20, 21-16 in the opening round.Hooda was made to work hard in the opening game as the two shuttlers remained close throughout. The Indian held her nerve in the closing stages to take it 22-20 before gaining greater control in the second game and completing the victory in straight games.
India also enjoyed success in women's doubles, with Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand advancing to the Round of 16 after defeating American pair Lauren Lam and Allison Lee 21-15, 21-12.
The Indian duo, ranked 39th in the world, maintained control in both games and did not allow the Americans to build sustained pressure. Treesa and Gayatri stepped up their attacking play after taking the first game 21-15 and comfortably closed out the second 21-12.
However, India's other women's doubles pair, Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi, saw their campaign end in the Round of 32. The Indians were beaten 7-21, 14-21 by Bulgarian sisters Stefani Stoeva and Gabriela Stoeva.
Kavipriya and Simran had advanced after edging Spain's Nikol Carulla and Carmen Maria Jimenez 22-20, 21-14 in their opening match on Monday, but struggled to match the experienced Bulgarian pair in the next round.
India's mixed doubles campaign also suffered two defeats.
Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh, last-minute reserve entrants, were involved in one of the day's most dramatic contests but eventually lost 16-21, 30-29, and 24-22 to Turkiye's Emre Sonmez and Yesemen Bektas.
Ruthvika Gadde and Rohan Kapoor also bowed out after a hard-fought three-game defeat to Canada's Crystal Lai and Jonathan Lai. The Indian pair won the opening game 22-20 but could not maintain the momentum, losing the next two 19-21, 17-21. (ANI)
BWF World Championships: Crasto-Kapila march into mixed doubles pre-quarters
