Dubai-Born Tanisha Finds Comfort In Parents' Words After World Championships Loss Khaleej Times

Dubai-born Indian shuttler Tanisha Crasto came tantalisingly close to winning a medal in her maiden appearance at the Badminton World Championships in Paris.

Tanisha and her mixed doubles partner, Dhruv Kapila, stunned the badminton world on Thursday with a superb win over the world number five Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong 21-15, 21-15 in the round of 16 clash.

A win in the quarterfinals would have assured them of at least a bronze medal, but Tanisha and Kapila lost 21-15, 21-13 to Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, who went on to win the final on Sunday.

Following the quarterfinal heartbreak, the 22-year-old reflected on the match and the tournament overall before speaking to her father, Clifford, a Dubai resident and her first coach, who introduced her to the game at Etisalat Academy when she was only five years old.

“I always talk to him after a match because I value his opinion. Every time he's given me some advice, I always take it,” Tanisha told the Khaleej Times over the phone from Mumbai.

“When I have a good match, I'd love to call my parents to share the happiness with them. And even after winning a match, he still tells me the areas I have to improve on, which is obviously great.

“But when I lose, I like to take some time out for myself before I call them, because I maynot be in that space to listen to any advice and understand what he actually means.

“So, I take some time to calm down, and then once I'm ready, my mind is calm and I'm ready to understand what he would say or what my mother would say, then I always call them and talk to them. It always helps me.”

Tanisha, who made her Olympic debut last year in Paris, is incredibly proud of her run to the quarterfinals in her first appearance at the world championships.

“I think it was an amazing journey, one of the best tournaments by far that we have played,” she said.

“We came to this tournament really well-prepared, and we didn't really take any pressure. We just wanted to give our best. I don't think a lot of people expected us to beat the world number five (in the round of 16), so it was amazing. We couldn't take a medal. But if you look at it overall, it was one of the best moments for me as a player.”

The former Indian High School (Dubai) student is now bracing for the next challenges while keeping an eye on the BWF World Tour Finals, the season finale where only the world's top eight singles players (male and female), and doubles and mixed doubles teams can qualify.

“I think tournaments like the Badminton World Championships (in Paris) give any athlete a lot of confidence. We made it to quarters after defeating the world number five, it gave us a lot of confidence,” she said.

“But you know, there's so much more to learn and improve. We are leaving for our next tournament in Hong Kong soon, so we will be back on the court again. We want to win many more matches and play many more big tournaments.”

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