Pillar of strength: M. Thinaah (right) with her mother Dr Parimala Devi, who celebrated her 58th birthday yesterday.
PETALING JAYA: M. Thinaah’s mother received a great gift for her birthday – the two gold medals won by her daughter in the Commonwealth Games.
The women’s doubles ace was proud to present the medals to her mum, Dr Parimala Devi, who turned 58 yesterday – a day after capturing gold in the individual event with Pearly Tan.
Pearly-Thinaah had emerged victorious in style, crushing home pair Chloe Birch-Lauren Smith 21-5, 21-8.
The pair, who were making their debuts in the quadrennial Games, were also part of the mixed team who won gold.
“Happy birthday Amma! I can’t think of a better gift than these two gold medals for you! Love you! See you soon,” Thinaah posted on social media.
When contacted, the 24-year-old also dedicated the women’s doubles gold to all Malaysian citizens as an early gift for Merdeka.
“We feel so happy to win these medals, they are for Malaysia – an early gift for Merdeka,” said a beaming Thinaah.
It was a fitting Merdeka gift as Pearly-Thinaah embodied the nation’s multiracial spirit with their close bond.
“We’ve known each other for so long – almost eight years. We’re close friends off-court and share everything. We’re really comfortable with each other. Pearly prefers to communicate in Mandarin, so the fact that I can speak the language is also easier for us,” explained Thinaah.
The pair also share similar interests as they both love their pets a lot.
“I have a rabbit called Roger and Pearly has a dog that she named Brownie. We really enjoy our time with our pets, it helps to relieve stress,” said Thinaah cheerfully.
Pearly-Thinaah’s friendship off-court has definitely played a part in their success as they keep looking to scale greater heights.
The combo had reached a career-high No. 10 in the world rankings in May and although they had dropped one rung to No. 11, they continue to show improvement.
They had reached three semi-finals this year in as many months - at the Thailand Open in May, Indonesian Masters in June and Malaysian Masters last month.
The Commonwealth Games gold was Pearly-Thinaah’s first title since capturing the Swiss Open last year.
Next, they will turn their attention to the World Championships in Tokyo from Aug 21-28.
“Winning the gold here has given us a boost and hopefully, we can take this confidence into the world meet. We just want to keep focusing on our game,” said Thinaah.
