Tougher challenges ahead: Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah in action at the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: The 2025 season has been a roller-coaster ride for women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, filled with highs, lows and plenty of challenges.
Despite falling short at the World Tour Finals, losing to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in the semi-finals on Saturday, national women’s doubles head coach Rosman Razak said he was pleased with their overall performance this year.
Rosman highlighted that Pearly and Thinaah had a remarkable season, winning three titles at the Japan Masters, Arctic Open and Thailand Open, and finishing runners-up at the Japan Open, Indonesia Open and Indonesian Masters.
They also made history as the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to reach the final of the World Championships, bringing home a silver medal.
Despite this milestone, Rosman said he would assess his players’ weaknesses and work on areas that need improvement, knowing that the challenges in the new season, starting in less than three weeks, would be even tougher.
“They were disappointed, but Pearly and Thinaah gave their all in the match yesterday (Saturday). We have also learned a lot over the past two weeks, and now it’s time to focus on recovery ahead of the next season,” said Rosman.
“It has been a fairly good year for them, but there are still areas that need improvement to cope with the tougher challenges ahead. We are grateful to everyone who has continued to support them.”
Pearly-Thinaah had a slow start to the year, exiting early at the season-opening Malaysian Open on home soil after losing to Indonesia’s Lanny Mayasari-Siti Fadia Ramadhanti.
However, they bounced back quickly, coming close to the title at the Indonesian Masters before falling to South Korea’s Kim Hye-jeong and Kong Hee- yong in the final.
Moreover, earlier in the year, the pair were involved in prolonged contract negotiations with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), with discussions over improved terms drawing public attention.
After six months, they agreed to remain with the national set-up and went on to prove their worth, climbing to world No. 2 in the rankings.
