Thinaah with her family members (from left) M. Selinaah, brother M. Kejhan, sister-in-law S. Bavitra, mother Dr. K. Parimala Devi and father S. Muralitharan.
PETALING JAYA: They smash in sync on court, but women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah could not be more different when it comes to winding down.
One cuddles up with her dog, Whiskey, while the other escapes into movies with her siblings in Klang.
Pearly cannot see her family often as they live in Kedah, so she finds joy in playing with Whiskey.
The 25-year-old often posts photos of herself with her pet friend on her social media pages.
Pearly also enjoys building Lego during her free time.
“My family is far from here, they live in Kedah, so I don’t have time to be with them,” said Pearly.
“So, I spend time with my dog as everyone knows. If I’m free and not too tired, I will bring him to Desa Park for a walk.
“I also build Lego if I’m not going out. This helps me relax.”
Meanwhile, Thinaah loves going back home and spending time with her family members.
Cuddly companion: Pearly Tan with her dog Whiskey.
“Usually, I go back home to my family and just watch a movie with my siblings.
“We will also go out for meals,” said Thinaah.
Despite their different hobbies, Pearly and Thinaah have been best friends since childhood and have enjoyed a great year so far on court.
The pair became the first Malaysians in the women’s doubles to capture a medal in the World Championships when they claimed silver in Paris in August.
Pearly-Thinaah also already have three titles to their names - the Thailand Open, Arctic Open and Japan Masters.
The duo also finished runners-up in the Indonesian Open, Japan Open and Indonesian Masters to go with their second placed finish in the world meet.
The pair rose to a career-high world No. 2 ranking in July thanks to their consistent showing this year.
Pearly-Thinaah have always cited their close friendship as one of the reasons for their success on court. It has not always been a smooth journey for the pair but they believe overcoming difficulties together have made their bond stronger.
“It has been an interesting year for us. It’s a year where there were lots of ups and downs we have been through together,” said Thinaah.
“It’s also a year that we learnt a lot from each other and our bond became stronger.
“We are happy but there’s also a lot of things that we still need to learn from. I’m thankful to Pearly for really being patient and willing to listen to my problems.”
Pearly said: “I’m proud of Thinaah because she really changed a lot this year. She’s willing to do things out of her comfort zone and communicate a lot together. I’m really thankful that she is my partner.
“It feels like everything happens for a reason, no matter good or bad, we just always believe in ourselves and we won’t give up.
“We know each other very well. We share the same goal, so that’s the main thing.”
Pearly-Thinaah will next make their debuts in the SEA Games from Dec 9-20 in Thailand and are aiming to capture gold.
The badminton competition in the Games will start early - two days before the opening ceremony on Sunday at Thammasat University, Pathum Thani.
Pearly-Thinaah are the hot favourites for the title as Indonesia and Thailand, who have always been Malaysia’s main challengers in badminton in the biennial Games, have struggled in the women’s doubles this year.
The pair will also be keen to keep their foot on the gas with the World Tour Finals from Dec 17-21 in Hangzhou also coming up for them.
Pearly-Thinaah will be the top seeds for the first time in the prestigious season ender after finishing top of the pile in the Race to Finals rankings.
Only the top eight pairs in the Race to Finals rankings can make the cut for the competition.
Pearly-Thinaah are out to end their wait to reach the semi-finals in the tournament.
