PETALING JAYA: Playing without Pearly Tan will be odd for M. Thinaah (pic) but she is ready to put her best foot forward for Malaysia in the Uber Cup Finals.
Thinaah will be without Pearly as the latter has withdrawn from the Finals from April 24-May 3 in Horsens, Denmark, due to back injury.
Thinaah said she did not want to look too far ahead, stressing that the focus now was on building team chemistry.
“I think we just want to stay focused. Playing for Malaysia and being on court is something we should appreciate and be grateful for,” said Thinaah.
“We do not want to put pressure on anyone. As teammates, we are there to support each other. The centralised training in Horsens is a good thing. We can bond more with our teammates. It’s important to build that team spirit,” she added.
Thinaah is set to form a scratch partnership with the debutants in the squad, namely Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee and Low Zi Yu-Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.
Even in the absence of Pearly, Malaysia still have a good chance to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in 16 years.
The last time Malaysia progressed beyond the group stage was in the 2010 edition in Kuala Lumpur.
They are in Group B with Japan, Turkiye and South Africa and should finish as the second best team to advance to the last eight.
Turkiye are making their first appearance in the Uber Cup and have lined up singles player Neslihan Arin, currently ranked world No. 30, who won a bronze medal at the European Championships in Huelva last week.
They also boast Bengisu Ercetin-Nazlican Inci, who secured a silver medal at the same tournament.
South Africa, meanwhile, have named a five-player squad comprising Amy Ackerman, Elme de Villiers, Chloe Lai, Johanita Scholtz and Anri Schooness.
Ackerman-Scholtz were crowned women’s doubles champions at the African Championships in Gaborone, Botswana in February. Scholtz also won a silver in women’s singles.
