PETALING JAYA: Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto are fast turning into a major threat to women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah.
Pearly-Thinaah lost out 16-21, 13-21 in 46 minutes to the world No. 6 pair in the Indian Open semi-finals at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi yesterday.
The world No. 2 pair struggled to contain Fukushima-Matsumoto’s attacks and suffered their third straight defeat to the latter after also coming up second best to them in both the group stage and last four of the World Tour Finals in Hangzhou last month.
Although Pearly-Thinaah still narrowly lead 5-4 in their head-to-head records, the tide seems to have turned against them lately.
Thinaah said that the pair’s defense was not solid enough on the day.
“Our opponents really pressured us in attack and our defence wasn’t really solid, so that’s something we need to take note of, especially when they play a faster game,” Thinaah told the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“We need to be more solid and confident in the shots we play. Our partnership, communication and rotation play are areas we need to work on.”
While disappointed with the defeat, Pearly moved to allay fears that she suffered a serious injury in her right foot after slipping when trying to retrieve the shuttle in the second game.
The 25-year-old stayed down after slipping and called for medical attention but managed to continue playing on.
“Luckily, it was nothing serious and I managed to end the match safely,” said Pearly.
The defeat ended Pearly-Thinaah’s hopes of making it to their first final in the competition.
The pair also reached the last four last year but were denied by South Korea’s Kim Hye-jeong-Kong Hee-yong.
Pearly-Thinaah will next turn their attentions to the Indonesian Masters which starts on Tuesday in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, men’s doubles duo Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun’s campaign ended in the quarter-finals after they went down fighting to China’s 2024 Paris Olympics silver medallists Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang 15-21, 21-15, 19-21 in 50 minutes.
The heartbreaking loss meant that world No. 6 Wei Chong-Kai Wun have still not found a way to overcome their world No. 5 opponents after six meetings.
