Unshakable trust and belief in each other the key to Pearly-Thinaah's run into final
PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have attributed their strong run in the Japan Open to their unshakable trust and belief in each other.
Yesterday, Pearly-Thinaah pulled off a sensational 21-13, 21-11 upset win over home favourites and bogey pair Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium to storm into the final.
The world No. 3 pair have a poor record against the world No. 2 duo, only winning once in their past 13 meetings but this time, they overturned the script by delivering arguably their best performance this year to send their rivals packing in just 36 minutes and silence the home crowd.
Pearly-Thinaah played with confidence and aggression throughout and did not allow Matsuyama-Shida much room to dictate play.
The stunning win propelled Pearly-Thinaah to their fourth final of the year after capturing the Thailand Open and finishing runners-up in the Indonesian Open and Masters.
"We communicated a lot and this really helped us in our game play and we really trust, believe in each other and support each other. I think that's more important than everything," said Pearly, in a post match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
"Both of us were more patient today (yesterday) and just focused on our game.
"We didn't want to rush to get points and this helped us a lot to win."
The win has given the Malaysians a huge confidence boost as they seek to crown their fine run with the title today.
Pearly-Thinaah though face a formidable challenge against China's world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in the final.
Shengshu-Tan Ning are also in top form and swept aside teammates and world No. 9 Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian 21-7, 21-16 to book their spot in the title match.
Pearly-Thinaah will be seeking revenge against the Chinese duo after losing narrowly to them in the Indonesian Open final last month.
Overall, Shengshu-Tan Ning hold the advantage over Pearly-Thinaah after beating them eight times in their past 11 meetings.
Pearly-Thinaah's last win over the combo pair came in the Hong Kong Open final last September.
Pearly-Thinaah will not be lacking in confidence though, after ending their long losing streak against Matsuyama-Shida.
Their last and only win before this over the Japanese duo also came in a World Tour Super 750 tournament - the French Open in 2022.
Then, Pearly-Thinaah took down Matsuyama-Shida in the last eight and went on to win the crown. Can they repeat that feat in Japan?
The pair have a chance to create history by becoming the first Malaysians in the women's doubles to lift the Japan Open title.
Thinaah hopes to raise her game once more with Pearly and deliver a memorable finish in the tourney.
"We just want to rest well, prepare well and discuss with each other and also our coaches on how best to approach the final," said Thinaah.
"We just hope to give our best tomorrow (today)."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Shuttler Sze Fei weds sweetheart before Paris campaign
PETALING JAYA: Former world No. 1 men's doubles shuttler Goh Sze Fei has officially tied the knot with his sweetheart, Yoke Shan, on Saturday (Aug 2). A photo that has gone viral on social media shows a dashing Sze Fei in a grey suit beaming with joy alongside a radiant Yoke Shan, who looked stunning in a white wedding gown, accompanied by Sze Fei's siblings. The 27-year-old had gotten engaged to Yoke Shan in December last year. Tying the knot couldn't have come at a better time for Sze Fei, who was gearing up for the World Championships in Paris next month with Nur Izzuddin Rumsani. Sze Fei and Izzuddin have been enjoying a strong season so far, having started the year ranked world No. 2. They kicked off their campaign in style by capturing the India Open title in January, defeating South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae in the final. The pair continued their fine run by reaching the final of the Japan Open three weeks ago. However, they had to settle for second place in Tokyo. They even had a brief taste of the world No. 1 ranking, holding the top spot for a few weeks from May 27 before ceding it to the Korean pair.
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Tang Jie-Ee Wei fall short but Jimmy-Pei Jing shine in Macau Open semis
Malaysia's Toh Ee Wei and Chen Tang. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star PETALING JAYA: Hopes of an all-Malaysian final in the mixed doubles event at the Macau Open were dashed after top seeds Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei fell in the semi-finals on Saturday (Aug 2). Playing at the Macau East Asian Games Dome, Tang Jie-Ee Wei started brightly against Denmark's Alexandra Boje and Mathias Christiansen, who recently returned to competition after serving a one-year suspension for failing to comply with anti-doping whereabouts requirements. But the Malaysians were unable to maintain their momentum as the match slipped into a decider. After a 54-minute battle, they went down 21-15, 17-21, 11-21. The Danes will face another Malaysian pair Jimmy Wong-Lai Pei Jing in the title match. Earlier, Jimmy-Pei Jing secured their place in the final after overcoming Indonesia's sixth seeds Amri Syahnawi-Nita Marwah 21-18, 21-16. It will be Jimmy and Pei Jing's fourth final of the year, but reaching the final in Macau is considered their biggest feat yet, with the tournament carrying Super 300 status. In the men's doubles, Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King emerged victorious in an all-Malaysian semi-final clash, beating Choong Hon Jian-Muhammad Haikal Nazri 21-13, 21-15. Arif-Roy King will take on the winners of the other semi-final between top seeds Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Isfahani of Indonesia and Taiwan's Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-jen.
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Arif-Roy King win all-Malaysian battle to make Macau Open final
KUALA LUMPUR: Wan Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King emerged triumphant in an all-Malaysian semi-final showdown at the Macau Open, overcoming Choong Hon Jian-Haikal Nazri 21-13, 21-15 on Saturday to earn a shot at the men's doubles title. The world No. 24's kept alive their bid for a maiden World Tour crown, which would be their first together and Malaysia's first men's doubles title at the event in 12 years. The last time a Malaysian pair contested the title match in Macau was in 2013, when Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong lifted the crown. Since then, only two other pairs — Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani in 2019 and Nur Azriyn Ayub-Wee Kiong in 2024 — had made it as far as the semi-finals. Arif-Roy King, who are currently the third-ranked pair in the national team behind world No. 2 Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and world No. 7 Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, will now have a golden chance to close the gap with their senior teammates. The opportunity is also there for them to claim the bragging rights as World Tour winners — albeit at Super 300 level — as their more established compatriots have already bagged two titles each this season. Aaron-Wooi Yik lifted the Singapore Open (Super 750) and Thailand Open (Super 500), while Wei Chong-Kai Wun triumphed at the Indonesia Masters and Malaysia Masters, both Super 500 events. Arif-Roy King had previously reached the final of a World Tour event once — the Spain Masters in March last year — but had to settle for runners-up. Their best run this year was making the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters in France, while they also reached the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters, German Open and Thailand Open. Although the two pairs train together daily under the national setup, this was the first time Arif-Roy King and Hon Jian-Haikal had faced each other competitively on the World Tour. For world No. 52 Hon Jian-Haikal, the semi-final run was a much-needed breakthrough after returning from an injury-disrupted spell in May. In their six outings prior to Macau, they suffered first-round exits on five occasions. This time, they made their presence felt — most notably by stunning former world No. 1 and Asian Games gold medallists Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy of India in the quarter-finals. Awaiting Arif-Roy King in Sunday's final will be either last year's runners-up Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia or Taiwanese brothers Lee Fang Chih-Lee Fang Jen.
