Sheer joy: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah celebrate after reaching the semi-finals at the Olympic Games.
PETALING JAYA: National women doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah found it hard to sleep on the eve of the quarter-finals match against South Koreans Kim So-young-Kong Hee-yong.
They were restless and nervous but they put it all aside on Thursday to superbly beat the world No. 10 pair 21-12, 21-13 in 39 minutes in the quarter-finals at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle.
The world No. 12 Pearly-Thinaah have become the first Malaysian women pair to reach the semis.
Pearly was happy that they came through the match successfully.
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“We were quite nervous and couldn’t sleep well last night because it was a very important match and we really wanted to play, “ said Pearly.
“Our opponents also would be with the same mindset. So, we reminded each other to be calm, focus on every point and enjoy the rallies and I think it really worked today.
“We have nothing to lose (in the semi-finals) as we have been giving our best in every match from the round robin till now.
“There will no regrets as we just want to continue enjoying our game.”
Thinaah said the key was their trust in each other.
“I think being the first women’s doubles pair to reach semis is just a record but for us, we are proud of each other. We were really focused and didn’t think about the outcome,” said Thinaah.
“We enjoyed our rallies and that is what helped us to win the match and the support form the coaches really motivated us.
“There are still a few matches to go and we just want to be prepared for it.”
They will face top seeds and world No. 1 Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan of China in the semis.
The good news is that they have beaten the Chinese pair once in their seven meetings at this year's second round of the All-England. Can they pull it off again?
