Pearly-Thinaah's China Open run moves them closer to world No. 2
World No. 3 Pearly-Thinaah had to dig deep to overcome Japan's world No. 99 Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara 21-17, 21-13 in a 37-minute second-round clash in Changzhou.
The Malaysians will officially leapfrog Japan's Chiharu Shida-Nami Matsuyama for the No. 2 spot next week if they reach the semi-finals.
Thinaah admitted they weren't at their best following a physically demanding campaign at the Japan Open last week.
"Last week definitely affected us physically, but we're trying to keep our confidence level high," said Thinaah.
"The draught was strong today, so we needed to come up with the right strategy to deal with it.
"We weren't too comfortable against the strong Hirokami-Hobara pair, but we managed to calm ourselves down and take control of the rallies. We're hoping for better momentum tomorrow (Friday)."
Pearly, after improving their head-to-head record to 3-0 against the Japanese duo, is now looking to step up in a tough last-eight clash against either Japan's world No. 9 Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto or Indonesia's world No. 10 Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi on Friday.
"Our movement was quite slow today, but we hope to perform better in the quarter-finals," said Pearly.
Shida-Matsuyama (88,832 points) missed the chance to consolidate second place after crashing out in the first round in Changzhou. Pearly-Thinaah, meanwhile, are set to collect enough points to overtake their Japanese rivals and move just behind runaway world No. 1s Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China — if they make the semi-finals.
Pearly-Thinaah have already achieved their best result at the China Open by reaching the quarter-finals, and the prospect of a new career-high ranking will give them added motivation to go all out on Friday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Different horsepower for Horner as Red Bull enter new era
FORMER Red Bull team boss Christian Horner posted a video on social media of himself riding on horseback in the English countryside on the day of the Belgian Grand Prix. 'Different horse power this Sunday,' read the simple caption. Spa-Francorchamps marked the start of a new era for the former Formula One champions, the first race without Horner -- dismissed two weeks ago -- at the helm since Red Bull entered the sport in 2005. New boss Laurent Mekies started with a win, with Max Verstappen taking the Saturday sprint, and then a frustrating fourth place for the Dutch four-times world champion in the main Sunday grand prix. Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda failed to score for the sixth race in a row. Apart from expressing surprise at the long delay in getting the race started, due to heavy rain, Mekies avoided any polemic. He blamed the team for Tsunoda's blank, saying the Japanese had done a great job in qualifying but was called in too late for his pitstop in a mistake that cost him three or four positions. 'After two weeks at the factory, trying to meet as many people as possible, it was nice to also meet the race team,' said the Frenchman when asked to assess the weekend. 'To also enter into the race dynamics and see how the flows and the processes and preparation are. That was super-good in terms of getting to know the team. As you would imagine, it's a team where everything is done at the mega level.' Horner's absence was the talk of the paddock but by the time the circus regroups in Budapest next week, the conversation is likely to have moved on. 'I think Laurent is very good. The sport moves on quickly, so it probably won't be something that we're talking about come Monday,' McLaren boss Zak Brown told Sky Sports television. 'He (Horner) had fantastic results. It's a shame to kind of go out the way he did.' Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said earlier in the weekend that he would miss his old sparring partner and Netflix 'Drive to Survive' protagonist -- in a way -- and expected him to return sooner or later. 'I don't think he's gone forever. I think he's going to pop up in some kind of other function,' said the Austrian - REUTERS
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Bigger gain after pain
Tough battle: Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik in action against Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri during the China Open men's doubles final in Changzhou yesterday. — AFP PETALING JAYA: Men's doubles shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have vowed to make amends after missing out on the China Open title by going all out to capture gold in the World Championships. Aaron-Wooi Yik were hoping to win their first World Tour Super 1000 title but were denied by Indonesia's Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri, losing 15-21, 14-21 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou yesterday. While it was a disappointing end after a good run in the tourney, the world No. 2 pair are keen to use the pain to drive them to the world title in Paris from Aug 25-31. Aaron-Wooi Yik created history by becoming the first Malaysian shuttlers to win gold in the 2022 edition in Tokyo before claiming bronze in 2023 and are now eyeing a third medal in Paris. 'Our goal is the gold medal in the world meet. We hope to keep improving and grab it,' Aaron told the Badminton World Federation (BWF). 'Next we need to recover and prepare well for the tournament.' Wooi Yik said: 'We still have almost a month to prepare and we want to keep our rhythm until Paris. 'We know there will be high expectations on us but we just want to stay calm because we believe the past is past. Our recent game play is different, so we just believe in each other and the coach's training. We don't expect too much but we still believe we can make it.' One pair who will not be in Aaron-Wooi Yik's way in the world meet are Fajar-Shohibul as the Indonesians have only recently formed a temporary partnership. Fajar has instead qualified for the prestigious tourney with former partner Rian Ardianto. In Changzhou, Aaron-Wooi Yik could not raise their game against Fajar-Shohibul and went down in just 35 minutes to the pumped up Indonesians in a fast-paced match. It was Aaron-Wooi Yik's second defeat in the China Open final after they finished runners-up to home favourites Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang in the 2023 edition. Aaron admitted that he and Wooi Yik found it harder to play against scratch pairings. 'All their shots were high quality and we couldn't handle them,' said Aaron. 'We always need some time to analyse scratch pairings and adapt against them. We had a game plan against them but they played very well.' Despite missing out on the crown again, Aaron-Wooi Yik are feeling positive about their performance ahead of the Paris showpiece after turning around their form following first-round exits in their last two outings in the Indonesian and Japan Opens. The duo had also made it into their fifth final of the year after capturing the Asian Championships, Singapore Open, Thailand Open and finishing runners-up to teammates Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun in the Malaysian Masters.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
China make ambition clear with four home titles in all-local finals
PETALING JAYA: China sent a warning to their rivals ahead of the World Championships from Aug 25-31 in Paris by sweeping four titles in the home Open in all-local finals. Men's singles shuttler Shi Yuqi (pic) led the charge when he fought hard to beat surprise finalist Wang Zhengxing 14-21, 21-14, 21-15 in 64 minutes at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium in Changzhou yesterday. World No. 2 Yuqi was the hot favourite against world No. 23 Zhengxing and duly proved his class and experience by capturing his first crown in the home Open and third World Tour Super 1000 title of the year after triumphing in the Malaysian Open and All-England. In the women's singles, world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi secured the title with a commanding 21-8, 21-13 victory over world No. 3 Han Yue in a one-sided final. Han Yue had made it into the title match after South Korea's world No. 1 An Se-young retired from their semi-final match while trailing 19-21, 6-11 due to a knee injury a day earlier. World No. 1 pairs Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning and Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping had earlier justified their top billings by claiming the women's doubles and mixed doubles titles respectively. Shengshu-Tan Ning overcame a stiff challenge from world No. 7 Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian, coming out on top 24-22, 17-21, 21-14 in a thrilling match which lasted 69 minutes. It was the duo's fourth title of the year after their wins in the Indonesian Open, Japan Open and Malaysian Masters and underlined their status as favourites for gold in the world meet. Yanzhe-Dongping also flexed their muscles by ousting world No. 2 Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin 23-21, 21-17, denying the latter back-to-back titles after their success in the Japan Open last week. Yanzhe-Dongping added to their victories this year in the Malaysian Masters and Thailand Open. China will now be in confident mood ahead of the Paris showpiece with the pressure now firmly on their rivals in the world meet.
