Staying put: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have agreed to remain with the national team despite their original demands not being fully met.
PETALING JAYA: The long wait over the contract status and salary package of national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah is set to end today, with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) expected to make an official announcement.
There are indications that the world No. 3 duo could be offered a higher salary package, but any adjustments will only be finalised after the World Championships in Paris this August, provided they deliver strong results at the China Open, Japan Open and the World Championships.
According to a source close to BAM, Pearly-Thinaah have agreed to remain with the national team despite their original demands not being fully met.
It is believed that the Thailand Open champions had initially requested a salary of over RM1mil, but BAM remained firm during negotiations.
It is understood that the current offer is based on the initial package tabled by BAM during negotiations in January.
“The pair will stay. But if they perform well in the next three tournaments, their salary package will be reviewed and increased,” said the source.
Deputy president Datuk V. Subramaniam declined to comment.
“I can’t say anything about Pearly-Thinaah at the moment,” he said when contacted.
For the record, their contract with BAM had already expired at the end of December last year, and to date, Pearly-Thinaah have yet to respond publicly on the matter.
If their salary package truly hinges on their performances in the upcoming three tournaments, Pearly-Thinaah certainly have a tough task ahead.
But should they succeed, it would serve as strong justification for why they deserve to be well compensated, befitting their status as Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair.
Pearly-Thinaah will open their Japan Open campaign on July 15 against Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva in the first round.
They will be looking to at least match or better their performance from last year, where they made it all the way to the quarter-finals.
A week later, they will head to Changzhou for the China Open, where they will be eager to make amends after crashing out in the second round in last year’s edition despite being seeded sixth.
And at the end of August, they will return to Paris for the World Championships.
The tournament was not held last year due to a clash with the Olympics, which ironically also took place in Paris.
During the Games, Pearly-Thinaah stunned many with a strong showing and came close to clinching a bronze medal before narrowly losing to Japan’s Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida.
