PETALING JAYA: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah may have cruised into the second round of the China Open yesterday, but the victory meant far more to Pearly.
The win came as a timely confidence boost after the Malaysian pair suffered a shock first-round exit at last week’s Japan Open despite arriving as last year’s runners-up.
It was also another step forward for Pearly, who is still working her way back from injury and trying to rediscover her rhythm on court.
The world No. 5 admitted she was still some way off her best and believed she was currently performing at only about 70 to 80 per cent.
“There is still much more to improve. I’m still finding my rhythm on the court,” said Pearly.
“And, of course, thanks to Thinaah for always covering me so I can just do whatever I want on the court because I know I have her on my side,” said Pearly in a post-match interview with the BWF.
At the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre yesterday, Pearly-Thinaah needed just 31 minutes to beat Japan’s Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa 21-16, 21-12.
They will face Ukraine’s Polina Buhrova-Yevheniia Kantemyr today for a place in the quarter-finals.
Pearly-Thinaah, however, will need to be wary of the Ukrainians after they pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the opening round by knocking out world No. 13 Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara of Japan 13-21, 23-21, 21-19 yesterday.
Mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie also rediscovered their confidence ahead of their second round clash against China’s Guo Xinwa-Cheng Fanghui today.
The Malaysians came through a hard-fought three-game battle against Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Misaki Matsumoto yesterday, winning 21-15, 16-21, 21-19.
Soon Huat-Shevon, who finished runners-up in the 2024 edition, admitted the past few months had been difficult after a string of disappointing results.
“Going into today’s (yesterday) match, I definitely put quite a lot of pressure on myself because, like you mentioned, we haven’t really done well over the past few months.
“We were really looking to regain our momentum and confidence, which I think we had lost after a series of early-round exits. Coming back here again with the drift, I think today’s (yesterday) match has given us the edge to regain our confidence, stick to our game plan and believe in ourselves again,” said Shevon.
RESULTS
(Malaysians only)
First round
Women’s singles: Sim Yu-jin (Kor) bt Wong Ling Ching 17-21, 21-16, 21-17; Zhang Beiwen (Us) bt K. Letshanaa 21-16, 21-15.
Women’s doubles: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah bt Ririna Hiramoto-Kokona Ishikawa (Jpn) 21-16, 21-12.
Mixed doubles: Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie bt Hiroki Midorikawa-Misaki Matsumoto (Jpn) 21-15, 16-21, 21-19.
