Her lari (garland) style of explosive bursts, as she strikes a whisk-like rotating pattern with Dhruv Kapila and goes about creating chances while never giving up, has been one of Indian badminton’s most underrated progressions.

On Thursday, at the Super 750, Tanisha and Dhruv lost the opening set, before sensationally bouncing back to beat Watanabe and Maya Taguchi 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 and reach the quarterfinals.

Tanisha is very different from India’s OG mixed doubles star Gutta whose game relied on her game smarts and big leftie attack with V Diju. Tanisha’s game is more like popping up at different parts of her own court with swift movements, and finding gaps on the opponent’s court before lasering in her ping shots with great energy and useful unpredictability which makes her resemble the Diwali mala cracker that travels and explodes. The decibel levels carry value of their own, like they used to for Carolina Marin.

Already an Olympian in women’s doubles and of versatile utility in team events, she’s not had the easiest times, given her reactive-reflexive high-risk game, which can cop a fair amount of errors. But she thrives in the chaos that mixed doubles tends to be, doesn’t get afraid of front court confrontations, and can surprise opponents when she actually gets into textbook patterns.

Dhruv is more methodical, the muscle from the back, who creates openings for Tanisha, but has a good understanding of forecourt exchanges too. His accuracy varies and injury concerns bog him down, but together they have the potential to pierce the thoroughly difficult top tier of mixed doubles someday.

Losing the opener 21-8 to Watanabe-Taguchi, the Indians ensured an early lead in the second. Tanisha would send one over the Japanese heads to reach 11-8, but it was in breaking the 14-14 deadlock that Tanisha showed first signs of her audacity. She went after Watanabe with her angled smashes smacking one into his ribcage.

She would pop up the shuttle at the net making a Watanabe kill difficult, because it was an arch, not a tumble at scything height to go up 18-14. A Taguchi service error gave Indians the set point to level. But it was Tanisha who once again made the shuttle pop up like a champagne cork, using her racquet frame, that gave them the 21-17 second set.

It is a testament to Tanisha’s ability to play clutch, because even the highlights package had more of the Japanese winners through the game. The Indians, not technically the most refined, were merely staying afloat till 9-11 in the decider.

In some rallies – like the one to get to 12-11 – Tanisha’s only job was to scream panicked prods to Dhruv to take the shuttle, as he did all the work. There is no unspoken understanding or some poetic connection between these two that makes them a good pairing – just clear (and loud) communication where a ‘Dhruv’ or ‘Me!’ is yelled out by Tanisha, when going for the shuttle. But the ruckus brings decisiveness.

At 16-12 to pull away for a crucial lead in the decider, the perfect game came together. Dhruv managed to use his power to push both Watanabe and Taguchi to the back court, and Tanisha smartly turned her racquethead for a cross drop to the forecourt empty space.

Still the Japanese came to within one points at 17-16. It’s when Tanisha attacked Taguchi’s serve savagely with an upright backhand return to create a melee. To get to 20-16, Tanisha sent her trick serve that saw Watanabe fumble. And on the third shot of the next points, it was once more her awkwardly exchanged return that drew out her error. The piercing warcry followed.