PETALING JAYA: Malaysia may have ended the Taiwan Open without a title, but there were plenty of positives as men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Aaron Tai and women’s duo Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah both finished runners-up yesterday.
For Chia and Tai, reaching the final in only their second tournament together was a clear sign of the promising chemistry between the experienced campaigner and his young partner.
The fifth seeds came within touching distance of a breakthrough title before falling 23-21, 21-19 to Indonesia’s Leo Carnando-Daniel Marthin.
The 29-year-old Chia believes the run to the final was an encouraging step forward and hopes the pair can carry the momentum into this week’s Korean Masters.
“I think we are progressing quite well, especially for the second tournament competing together in our new partnership,” said Chia.
“We have another tournament to compete together in South Korea, so let’s see what can be done there.”
Chia admitted that their opponents turned up the pressure during vital moments in the game but remained proud of their performance to reach the final.
“We have done our best and congratulations to our opponents. They played really well and at crucial moments gave us a lot of pressure,” said Chia, who lost in the first round with Tai at the China Open last week. Chia and Tai will put a pause on their new partnership after South Korea stint as they will be paired with different partners for next month’s China Masters, as Chia partners Man Wei Chong and Tai will team up with Soh Wooi Yik.
Top seeds Pearly and Thinaah kept their smile although their hopes of ending their seven-month wait for a title continued after they were stunned 21-16, 21-18 by Japan’s world No. 71 pair Sumire Nakade-Miyu Takahashi.
World No. 5 Pearly-Thinaah had hoped to cap their comeback since winning the Indonesian Masters in January, but were still proud to have made the final after Pearly’s injury in April.
“The main takeaway is that we are getting our rhythm back. We know what we’re doing on court, but we need to be physically better,” said Pearly.
“So we know what we need to work on after we head back and will try to be better.”
Pearly-Thinaah will have some time to work on their on-court strength before they head to New Delhi for the World Championships from Aug 17-23.
