The two reasons behind Pearly-Thinaah's smashing run
KUALA LUMPUR: What are the factors that led to Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah's remarkable run on the World Tour over the last four weeks?
National women's doubles head coach Rosman Razak has offered two reasons: tactical changes and great on court communication.
Pearly-Thinaah won the Thailand Open, reached the Malaysia Masters semi-finals and Singapore Open quarter-finals. And on Sunday, they nearly toppled China's mighty Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning in the Indonesia Open final.
They lost 23-25, 21-12, 21-19 in 87 minutes, but Pearly-Thinaah had the world No. 1 against the ropes, and could have delivered the knockout blow.
The Jakarta result was significant for Pearly-Thinnah as it was their first Super 1000 final, in a World Tour major event. In fact, their world ranking is set to rise a rung, to No. 3 after this, the highest in their careers.
The tactical changes mentioned by Rosman are that Pearly-Thinaah's game has become more aggressive amid a more positive mindset.
"There have been tactical changes in their play, and their excellent communication with each other on court have helped them come out of pressure cooker situations," said Rosman.
"We have been trying new tactics and they have brought positive outcome. But we need to fine tune them."
But off court, Pearly-Thinaah have another issue to deal with — their protracted contract negotiation with the BA of Malaysia (BAM). They may not want to sign a contract extension with the national association but turn professional instead.
Under Rosman, the pair have been showing progress, but to remain under him, they will have to stay with BAM.
Pearly-Thinaah are expected to meet BAM's top management next week for contract talks.
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New Straits Times
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The Star
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The Star
11 hours ago
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Rosman stays put to produce women's doubles champs
Great show: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah in action against China's Li Jiying-Luo Xumin during their semi-final match at the Indonesian Open. — AP PETALING JAYA: National women's doubles head coach Rosman Razak is not planning to jump ship but will stick with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Rosman is fully aware of his task and he aims to remain firm in his objective of guiding all the shuttlers under his care until 2028 regardless of any decision made by his players to turn professional. Currently, his top pair and world No. 3 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have yet to sign a contract with the BA of Malaysia and there is a possibility that they could turn independent. Rosman is not letting his charges' ongoing unresolved contract distract him from his task at hand. 'Whatever the outcome of Pearly-Thinaah's contracts, I can't afford to think about this as it will affect me too,' said Rosman after overseeing a training session at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara yesterday. 'I don't know the future but as long as they are training under me, I will do my best to guide them and keep working hard towards the biggest goal which is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 'BAM hired me for this and my responsibility is not just towards Pearly-Thinaah but also the other women's doubles pairs in the team.' Despite the contract issue, Rosman did well to guide Pearly-Thinaah to a runners-up finish in the recent Indonesian Open. The pair made it into their first ever World Tour Super 1000 final before going down fighting 25-23, 12-21, 19-21 to China's world No. 1 Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning. 'Pearly-Thinaah did not win the title but I'm happy with their performance in this tournament,' said Rosman. 'It's a good breakthrough for them and also a boost for the entire women's doubles department. I hope they can maintain their form. 'For me, it's normal for players to go through ups and downs. We need to support them more when they are struggling than when they are winning.' Pearly-Thinaah will next compete in the back-to-back Japan Open (July 15-20) and China Open (July 22-27).
