PETALING JAYA: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah's hopes of capturing the Japan Open title were dashed after losing to China's world No. 1 pair, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning.
Pearly and Thinaah found the Chinese pair challenging and lost 15-21, 14-21 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Sunday (July 20).
It was the world No. 3 duo's second defeat to Shengshu and Tan Ning in a final this year, following their runner-up finish to the same pair in the Indonesian Open title match in Jakarta last month.
Despite missing out on the title, it was still an encouraging outing for Pearly and Thinaah, who reached their fourth final this year.
The duo triumphed in the Thailand Open in May and finished runners-up in the Indonesian Masters in January, adding to their achievements in the Indonesian Open and Japan Open.
Pearly and Thinaah will now turn their attention to the China Open, which starts on Tuesday in Changzhou.
