India's Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto stormed into the semifinals of the German Open 2025 badminton tournament after defeating the People’s Republic of China’s Gao Jia Xuan and Wu Meng Ying in straight games at the Westenergie Sporthalle on Friday.Paris 2024 Olympian Tanisha Crasto and her mixed doubles partner Dhruv Kapila displayed a commanding performance to oust the Chinese duo 21-14, 21-17 in just 30 minutes.
Kapila and Crasto made a blistering start, surging to an 11-2 lead in the opening game. Although Gao and Wu staged a brief comeback to reduce the deficit to 13-10, the Indian pair swiftly reasserted their dominance to close out the first game.
The second game proved to be a tighter contest, with the Chinese pair putting up a spirited resistance. However, Kapila and Crasto held their nerve to seal the victory and secure a semi-final berth.Meanwhile, in men’s singles, India's Tharun Mannepalli, ranked 59th in the world, bowed out of the tournament following a hard-fought 16-21, 21-17, 21-8 loss to France's third-seeded Toma Junior Popov.
In the women’s singles category, world No. 64 Unnati Hooda suffered a heartbreaking exit after a marathon battle against Japan's 41st-ranked Riko Gunji. Hooda claimed the first game 21-15 but squandered match points in the next two, ultimately falling 15-21, 25-23, 24-22.
India's Rakshitha Ramraj and Tasnim Mir also crashed out in the women’s singles section. Ramraj went down 12-21, 12-21 against fourth-seeded Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark, while Mir retired against Nguy?n Thùy Linh of Vietnam. Mir was trailing 19-21, 21-12, 0-7 before conceding the match.With Kapila and Crasto keeping India’s hopes alive in the tournament, all eyes will be on their semi-final clash as they aim for a spot in the final.(UNI)