Here's a question for Indian badminton fans: what comes to your mind when you think of India in mixed doubles?
Maybe you think of the trailblazing pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju, the first (and so far, only) Indians to break into the top 10. Or maybe the brief, exciting partnership between Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, before they chose to focus on their respective doubles careers.
There has, though, not been much for India to celebrate in mixed doubles compared to the other disciplines. If anything, in team competitions, mixed doubles has been a bit of a write-off for India. Until 2025.
At the recent Sudirman Cup, mixed doubles won India's only point in a must-win tie against Indonesia, with Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila pulling off a stunner in a three-game thriller to start the tie. This would have been unheard of even a year ago, but Tanisha-Dhruv's recent trajectory suggests that this is a promising start of something with huge potential: even if it came in a campaign as despondent as this one.
"It was amazing, Dhruv and I pulled out a really good win," Tanisha tells ESPN. "We wanted to win against that pair because we lost to them at the German Open semis and that match was really not favouring us till the end [which ended 21-19 in the decider.] We were really happy to score the first point for the team which really gave a lot of motivation."
"We didn't start really well at the Sudirman Cup against Denmark, and we really had to push. We thought whatever happens with the team it's secondary, but we have to start in a positive way against Indonesia," adds Dhruv.
Their personalities and origins stories in the sport are very different, but there is something about their combined game that has clicked very quickly.
Dhruv, the 25-year-old from Punjab, was a prodigy who joined the Gopichand Academy when he was only 10 years old. The 22-year-old Tanisha, born and raised in Dubai, moved to Hyderabad at 16 to pursue her dream to play for India. He believed he was good at mixed doubles but had to back off for want of finding the right partner and became India No 2 in men's doubles with MR Arjun, who struggled with multiple injury setbacks. She, meanwhile, switched to women's doubles with Ashwini and qualified for the Olympics after her promising partnership with Ishaan Bhatnagar ended when he sustained a serious knee injury.
Yet both were drawn back to mixed doubles and mutually decided to team up, a choice that proved to be an inspired one. When they played the Syed Modi International last November and reached the final, both knew they had found that connect and decided to focus solely on mixed doubles from now, with coach Manu Attri travelling with them.
So, what has been that X Factor?
Dhruv believes it's mentality. "We both have a similar mentality because we really want to achieve something and that's pushing us together." Tanisha adds, "I absolutely agree with him. Both of us have the same goal, both of us know what it takes and what we have to do to be there. I think mainly we really help each other and that is what is helping us progress."
Already they've broken into the Top 20, with a career-best world ranking of 17 in April, having started playing seriously only in November. At the Badminton Asia Championships in April, they were last standing Indians, reaching the quarterfinal. With Indian's badminton players struggling recently, Tanisha-Dhruv seem to be the most in-form Indians. Their upsurge has not gone unnoticed, and both have recently been signed on by the Reliance Foundation - which will mean a dedicated sports science and support team - a rarity for mixed doubles in India.
In badminton, mixed is different from the same-gender doubles, it is more versatile and tactical with defined player roles; where the male player controls more of the shuttle and the female player on the front court is often targeted and therefore has to defend more. For the Indian pair, Tanisha's sharp angles and all-court agility is balanced by Dhruv's attack at the back court, but they are not afraid to switch it up.
"He has an amazing attack and control, and I think what he needs is someone to just create for him and he'll do the rest. So, I think that's exactly what works for us where I create, and he finishes. But there are times where I also step back and he's super at the net also," says Tanisha. Their communication and strategy in tense games is still a work in progress, with the crunch moment getting to them at times. But their last few outings have shown that they are learning quickly.
"Mixed at the world level is more about control rather than just a power game, it's much more tactical," explains Dhruv. Which is why this discipline needs a more focused approach: specialised planning and coaching is where India can really drive the mixed doubles ecosystem up.
"I think we'd like to see more pairs playing mixed doubles. What I've seen over the past years is combinations are made but they don't last for a very long time, which shouldn't happen. [Sticking together] is the only way you'll have more pairs competing, more pairs to help each other. Right now, Dhruv and I don't have a lot of pairs to play mixed doubles with us [nationally.]," says Tanisha. "There's only I think one pair, Rohan [Kapoor] and Ruthvika [Gadde], they are doing good but there should be more," says Dhruv.
"Yeah, there should be more. We need more experience; we need more matches in training for us to go out there and compete and win a good amount. I think the difference when we go out [in competition] is the intensity and that sometimes takes a toll on us. But all that comes in training, if we can train with more pairs then when we go out it's much easier."
"You can see a lot of results in singles is because singles have a good group of players to play with and everyone has a very different style so it's more like adapting to different styles and fast," says Tanisha.
This is exactly what Tanisha and Dhruv's success can change in Indian badminton -- Make mixed doubles a more focusses discipline, with specific training. This is crucial for team championships as well, where doubles can be decisive. Tanisha, who has seen the change in approach already from her earlier stint with Ishaan, says that she is seeing progress in her partnership with Dhruv but would want to see many more long-term pairs coming together with mixed-centric training.
With singles going through a major slump and men's doubles struggling due to Satwik-Chirag's injury, Dhruv and Tanisha now have a chance to bring mixed doubles to the centre-stage for Indian badminton.