KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, can finally look forward to some much-needed downtime after a hectic schedule that has taken a toll on both their bodies and minds.
After a string of impressive performances since the Paris Olympics last month, the world number eight duo were knocked out in the second round of the Super 1000 China Open today.
Pearly and Thinaah, who made history last week by becoming the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to win the Hong Kong Open title, lost in straight games, 21-16, 21-18, to China’s Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou.
Yi Jing and Xu Min will next face either compatriots Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning or Hong Kong’s Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam in the quarter-finals.
Despite their second-round exit, Pearly and Thinaah made no excuses for their loss.
“Our opponents put a lot of pressure on us; we were quite slow to anticipate their shots, and there were some 50-50 moments between us that we didn’t manage well,” Thinaah said in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“They also handled the drift better than us, and that was one of the reasons we lost. We still have room for improvement,” added Pearly.
Thinaah credited their recent good form to playing without pressure since the Olympics.
“After the Olympics, we just wanted to enjoy playing. It felt like a huge burden was lifted, and that helped a lot,” Thinaah explained.
Pearly also emphasised the need for a break, having played in four tournaments and reached two finals.
“Right now, we just want to rest and recover well so we can regain our momentum. We aim to be more consistent and stick to our game plan,” Pearly said.
In the mixed doubles second round, Korea Open champions Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei also fell short, losing 21-15, 13-21, 21-9 to Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
The Indonesians will face Malaysia’s Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin in the next round. The national pair defeated their compatriots Yap Roy King and Valeree Siow 21-9, 21-15 in their second-round match.
Meanwhile, independent mixed doubles duo Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing saw their China Open campaign come to an end after a 21-18, 21-18 loss to Denmark’s Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund.
The Danes will take on second seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China in the quarter-finals tomorrow. — September 19, 2024