Malaysia’s women’s doubles Pearly Tan - M. Thinaah reacts while in the training session for Malaysia Open 2022 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. - IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: M. Thinaah is enjoying the atmosphere in the centralised training camp for the Asian Mixed Team Championships from Feb 14-19 in Dubai.
The joint-training camp involving both national and independent players had started on Monday and Thinaah is thrilled to be part of a large group of players at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara.
“It’s really exciting to see so many people here with the independent players also joining us for training,” said Thinaah in a video uploaded by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) on social media.
“Everyone has been serious in training and are going all out but we are also enjoying ourselves at the same time.’’
The independent players who had joined the camp are Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles), Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (men’s doubles), Goh Jin Wei (women’s singles) and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles).
Thinaah is set to play an important role in the team meet along with her partner Pearly Tan.
The other national players selected are Leong Jun Hao (men’s singles), Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles), Wong Ling Ching (women’s singles), Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee (women’s doubles) and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (mixed doubles).
Malaysia have been placed in Group B and will play hosts the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan before going head-to-head against India in a crucial tie to decide the group winners.
Malaysia need to beat India to secure an easier path to the semi-finals as reaching the last four will guarantee automatic qualification for the prestigious Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, China, from May 14-21.
Thinaah has called on her teammates to play without pressure.
“I’m really excited to compete in this tournament. I think it’s important for all of us to play without pressure and just go out there, enjoy the game and give our best,” she said.
