PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are making the most of a brief 72-hour break before soldiering on in their China Masters campaign in Shenzhen today.
After wrapping up the World Championships in Paris three weeks ago, Pearly-Thinaah only had a short rest before flying to Kowloon for last week’s Hong Kong Open.
The world silver medallists showed resilience, battling their way to the semi-finals before falling to China’s Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian.
A break is much needed for the duo, who will only have to endure one more week in Shenzhen as they have decided to withdraw from next week’s Korean Open in Suwon-si.
Besides Pearly-Thinaah, several other national players have also made the same decision, including men’s doubles pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun.
“I think playing in Hong Kong feels like being on home ground because there are so many supporters cheering for us and never giving up on us. This is also our third time here, so we have many good memories and positive takeaways.
“But we still have another week to go, so for now we will discuss among ourselves and come back stronger,” said Thinaah in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“For now, I just think we need a good rest and a short break for a few days, then continue our training, review today’s match, and get ready for the next one,”added Pearly after their match against Yifan-Shuxian.
In Shenzhen, Pearly-Thinaah will start as the second seeds and face Indonesia’s Febriana Kusuma-Meilysa Puspitasari in the opening round.
It will be a repeat of last week’s clash in Kowloon, where Pearly-Thinaah had little trouble beating the Indonesian pair in the second round.
