Arctic Open 2025: Anmol Kharb, Dhruv-Tanisha advance to quarter-finals

India’s men’s campaign ended with Tharun Mannepalli’s loss.

For a second consecutive day Anmol Kharb took down a higher-ranked opponent to keep India’s singles campaign alive at the BWF Arctic Open 2025. The young sensation came back from a game down to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Wen Chi Hsu and advance to the quarter-finals of the BWF Super 500 event.

Meanwhile, India’s top-ranked mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also progressed to setup a last eight date with top seed Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin of China.

Other Indians in action, Tharun Mannepalli and Tanya Hemanth bowed out in the last 16 stage with straight games defeats.

Kharb, who is currently ranked World No. 62, displayed nerves of steel and maturity beyond her years. After narrowly losing the first game 18-21, the 18-year-old fought back.

She started the second game leveling it 3-3, then stayed close at 6-6 before taking lead soon 7-6. From there, Anmol’s confidence started to flow. She took seven consecutive points to pull ahead 19-13 and eventually won the second game 21-18.

Also Read: BWF Arctic Open 2025: Updated schedule, fixtures, results, live streaming details

In the decider, when it mattered the most, she started strong again with a 3-2 lead and never looked back. Playing with smart shot selection, she sealed the match 21-17 in 67-minute long marathon to reach the quarter-finals, keeping India’s hopes alive in the singles campaign.

18 yr old Anmol Kharab won once again at #ArcticOpenSuper500 battling through against another higher ranked player (WR32) Wen Chi Hsu 🇹🇼 to advance into her career 1st BWF WT S500 QFs QFs vs Amalie Schulz🇩🇰 tommorow (H2H: 2-0) pic.twitter.com/jp0xSrXYWU

— Amit Kumar De (@AmitK98infinite) October 9, 2025

On the other hand, eighth-seeded Dhruv-Tanisha faced a tough test against Ukraine’s Oleksii Titov and Yevheniia Kantemyr in the pre-quarterfinals.

It was not an easy start. After saving four game points but losing the opening game 23-25, the Indian duo took it a level up. Some sharp net play and clever rotations were introduced, and they took control of the next two games 21-14, 21-17 to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

This win added to their growing list of strong performances in 2025, including quarter-final finishes at the Badminton Asia Championships and the BWF World Championships earlier this year. The Indian mixed doubles stars, however, are yet to win a title this season.

In men’s singles, India’s last remaining hope Tharun Mannepalli fell to the world no. 18 Koki Watanabe of Japan.

Tharun, ranked 46th in the world, gave tough battle in the opening game but went down 20-22, and he lost the rhythm right there eventually losing the second game 12-21.

Earlier in the tournament, he had kept India’s campaign alive with a thrilling comeback against Toma Junior Popov of France, saving four match points to win 11-21, 21-11, 22-20.

Also Read: Arctic Open: Full list of title winners

India’s overall singles performance, however, has been disappointing. Lakshya Sen suffered his 10th first-round exit of the year, falling to Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 21-15, 21-17. Ayush Shetty also lost to top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-15, 21-16.

Kiran George retired in his pre-quarterfinal match against Koki Watanabe after losing the first game 10-21 and trailing 1-4 in the second. Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, conceded a walkover to Rasmus Gemke of Denmark.

With all others out, Anmol Kharb and the Dhruv Kapila–Tanisha Crasto pair now carry India’s remaining hopes at the Arctic Open 2025.

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