PETALING JAYA: World No. 2 women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are on the brink of achieving their best result in the World Tour Finals.
They could secure a spot in the World Tour semi-finals for the first time if they overcome Japan’s Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi in today’s Group A clash in Hangzhou.
Yesterday, Pearly-Thinaah put themselves in a good spot when they opened their campaign with a landmark victory over hosts Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian of China, winning 21-17, 21-11.
The win ended a five-match losing streak against the Chinese duo.
The pair, coached by Rosman Razak, impressed with a fresh tactical approach that proved decisive against Yifan-Shuxian.
“I think that’s mostly our game plan today because we have played them a few times. Today, we tried something new, and I think it worked,” said Pearly in a post match interview with BWF.
“I’m definitely happy with this game because we were really preparing for the World Tour Finals. We just wanted to have no regrets on court.
“We made sure to communicate whenever things didn’t go well, talk it out, and support each other. I think that’s what really helped us,” added Thinaah.
A win over Iwanaga-Nakanishi today would brighten their chances of reaching the semi-finals for the first time.
Last year’s mixed doubles semi-finalists Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie however face a tough task to repeat their feat when they take on Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping of China today.
The husband-and-wife pair suffered a heavy defeat in their Group B opener yesterday against fellow Malaysians Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, losing 13-21, 13-21. Another loss today would end their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals.
“I think speed-wise, they still have the upper hand, and I think in consistency as well, as we weren’t consistent enough in our match,” said Shevon.
Meanwhile, Tang Jie-Ee Wei will face Indonesia’s Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu in today’s clash.
lMEN’S SINGLES
Group A: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Jonatan Christie (Ina) 21-10, 21-14.
WOMEN’S SINGLES
Group A: An Se-young (Kor) bt Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) 21-16, 8-21, 21-8; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-14, 21-17.
Group B: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Han Yue (Chn) 21-14, 21-5; Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) bt Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) 21-18, 14-21, 21-10.
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
Group A: Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah (Mas) bt Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian (Chn) 21-17, 21-11; Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-14, 21-14.
Group B: Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) bt Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong (Kor) 21-15, 21-12; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Hsieh Pei-shan-Hung En-tzu (Tpe) 21-10, 21-14.
MIXED DOUBLES
Group A: Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) 16-21, 21-16, 21-17; Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito (Jpn) bt Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) 21-19, 21-18.
Group B: Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu (Ina) 21-18, 21-16; Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon lai Jemie (Mas) 21-13, 21-11.
