PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah narrowly went down 17-21, 20-22 to China's world No. 1 Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan in their opening Group A match in the Paris Olympics.
World No. 13 Pearly-Thinaah, who were making their debuts in the Olympics, fought back from 18-20 down in the second game to tie the scores at 20-20 but the formidable Chinese pair snatched the last two points to win the match in straight games at Adidas Arena in Porte de la Chapelle on Saturday (July 27).
Despite the defeat, Pearly-Thinaah can take heart from their battling display and will face Japan's two-time former world champions Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara next on Sunday (July 28).
Indonesia's world No. 9 Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti is the other pair in a tough group.
