India’s badminton campaign at the Asian Games 2026 suffered a setback on Sunday as two of its doubles combinations, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Dhruv Kapila-Tanisha Crasto, were eliminated in the quarterfinals despite putting up strong fights against higher-ranked opponents.
Treesa and Gayatri, fresh from winning a historic bronze at last month’s World Championships in New Delhi, were beaten 18-21, 9-21 by Malaysia’s world No. 5 pairing of Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.
Treesa-Gayatri Fall After Strong Opening Game
The Indian duo stayed within touching distance for much of the opening game. After falling 3-8 behind, Treesa and Gayatri fought back to make it 10-10 before the Malaysians regained the initiative.
Pearly and Thinaah eventually opened up a 19-16 advantage and converted their third game point to take the opener 21-18.
Treesa and Gayatri began the second game on the front foot, racing to a 3-0 lead. The Malaysian pair responded immediately, applying pressure and forcing the Indians into a series of errors.
From 3-3, Pearly and Thinaah established a commanding 11-4 lead and never allowed their opponents to recover. They eventually wrapped up the game 21-9 to book their place in the semifinals.
The defeat ended another encouraging tournament for Treesa and Gayatri, who had already secured two victories over Japan’s world No. 3 pair Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. However, their record against Pearly and Thinaah remained a concern, with the Malaysians now having won seven of their nine meetings.
Kapila-Crasto Push World No. 1 Chinese Pair
Earlier in the day, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto came close to causing an upset against the world No. 1 Chinese combination of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping.
The Indian mixed doubles pair endured a difficult start and surrendered the opening game 14-21. They responded strongly in the second, increasing the pace of their play and putting the Chinese duo under sustained pressure to level the match with a 21-18 win.
The decider remained closely contested, with Kapila and Crasto refusing to give up despite the quality of their opponents. Feng and Huang, however, held their composure during the decisive exchanges and secured the game 21-18, ending the Indians’ run.
With both Indian pairs now out of the competition, the country’s hopes in the badminton doubles events have taken a significant hit. Treesa-Gayatri’s quarterfinal appearance, however, adds to what has been an encouraging period for the young women’s doubles combination following their World Championships podium finish.