Go for broke: If Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah live up to their billing as the top seeds, they will make history as no Malaysian women’s doubles pair has ever won the Thailand Open title since its inception in 1984.
PETALING JAYA: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will be looking to turn past pain into motivation when they take on Indonesia’s Lanny Tria Mayasari-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti in the second round of the Thailand Open today.
The last time the two pairs met was during the Malaysian Open in January at the Axiata Arena, a match that turned into a nightmare for the Malaysian duo.
Pearly-Thinaah had gone into the Super 1000 home tournament as one of Malaysia’s brightest hopes, especially with it being the season-opener on the BWF World Tour calendar.
Their opponents were a newly-formed pair, with Siti Fadia having just been partnered with Lanny after her previous stint with Apriyani Rahayu.
But it was the Indonesians who pulled off a shock upset, knocking out the Malaysians in the opening round. The early exit drew a wave of criticism, with questions raised about Pearly-Thinaah’s match fitness and readiness for the season.
Five months on, much has changed for both pairs. But Pearly-Thinaah are still carrying the weight of expectation, particularly as the uncertainty surrounding their contract situation with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) continues to loom large.
They got their campaign in Bangkok off to a strong start, sweeping past India’s Rashmi Ganesh-Sania Sikkandar 21-11, 21-5 in just 24 minutes on Wednesday.
For the record, Pearly-Thinaah reached the semi-finals of the tournament in 2022 but opted to skip the next two editions.
If they live up to their billing as the top seeds in this year’s tournament, Pearly-Thinaah will make history, as no Malaysian women’s doubles pair has ever won the title since the event’s inception in 1984.
Meanwhile, fellow compatriots Teoh Mei Xing-Go Pei Kee also advanced to the second round after a hard-fought battle in their opening match.
The eighth seeds were pushed to the limit by Taiwan’s Chen Su-yu-Hsieh Yi-en but eventually triumphed 21-15, 18-21, 21-15 in 48 minutes.
Like Pearly-Thinaah, Mei Xing-Pei Kee will also face another Indonesian pair, Meilysa Puspitasari-Rachel Rose, in the second round today.
Mei Xing-Pei Kee could carry a psychological advantage into the match, having defeated the world No. 25 pair in the second round of the Orleans Masters last March.
It was a disappointing day for the young women’s doubles pair, Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting, who were ousted by India’s third-seeded duo, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Pullela Gopichand, 15-21, 13-21.
The national team also suffered setbacks in the mixed doubles category, with two pairs exiting in the first round.
Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin, ranked 14th in the world and seeded seventh, were defeated by the Thai pair, Supak Jomkoh-Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn, 21-15, 18-21, 17-21.
Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow also saw their campaign cut short, losing to South Korea’s Ki Dong Ju-Jeong Na Eun 18-21, 17-21.
The men’s doubles team of Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong couldn’t advance either, as they were beaten by top seeds Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto 11-21, 17-21.
FIRST ROUND RESULTS
Malaysians only
Men’s singles: Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin bt Wang Zhengxing (Chn) 21-12, 19-21, 21-18.
Men’s doubles: Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto (Ina) bt Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong 21-11, 21-17.
Women’s doubles: Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing bt Chen Su-yu-Hsieh Yi-en (Tpe) 21-15, 18-21, 21-15 Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah bt Rashmi Ganesh-Sania Sikkandar (Ind) 21-11, 21-5; Treesa Jolly-Pullela Gopichand (Ind) bt Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting 15-21, 13-21.
Mixed doubles: Ki Dong-ju-Jeong Na-eun (Kor) bt Yap Roy King-Valeree Siow (Mas) 21-18, 21-18; Supak Jomkoh-Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn (Tha) bt Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin 18-21, 21-18, 21-17.
