Qingdao, Feb. 14 -- Up and coming mixed doubles combination of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto and women's singles player Malvika Bansod gave their all against much higher-ranked opponents but could not avoid India's 3-0 loss against the formidable Japan-winners of the championship in 2017-in the last eight stage of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2025 in Qingdao, China on Friday.

Facing the world number 12 combination of Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito in the first match of the tie, Dhruv and Tanisha forced a decider with a spirited fightback in the second game. But, the experienced Japanese combination prevailed in the 61-minute contest 21-13, 17-21, 21-13 to take the lead, as per a press release from Badminton Associatio...