PETALING JAYA: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are still expected to challenge for a medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games despite the world No. 5 women’s doubles pair going through a difficult spell in recent tournaments.
Head coach Rosman Razak is aware of the problems facing his charges, particularly Pearly, who is still trying to regain her confidence and rhythm after recovering from injury.
Rosman admitted there are concerns over their recent dip in form but insisted that expectations cannot simply be lowered for a pair who have established themselves among the world’s best.
"Feeling worried is normal because the expectations on both of them have always been high.
"Even now, I cannot say that we should lower the expectations.
"We still have to maintain the same mentality based on what Pearly-Thinaah have shown before.
"That is something Pearly-Thinaah and the coaching team have to accept. We cannot run away from those expectations, and we do not want to either.
"We do not want to approach this with the mindset that they are just an ordinary pair.
"We have to start with the mindset that they are among the top pairs in the world because that is where they belong.
"So everything we do has to be geared towards getting them back to that level,” said Rosman.
That belief in Pearly-Thinaah’s quality also means Rosman is not overly concerned about who they could face when the Asian Games draw is made on Sept 19.
For him, getting the pair back to their best is far more important than worrying about potential opponents.
"Honestly, I am not too concerned about the draw because my main focus is on their performance.
"As everyone knows, they are going through this phase at the moment, so that is where my attention is.
"When Pearly-Thinaah are at their best, they are capable of beating anyone.
"I think their opponents will also be wary of facing them. Of course, we would prefer not to meet the top pairs too early, but I’m sure the top four pairs would also rather avoid Pearly-Thinaah.
"So it works both ways,” added Rosman.
At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Pearly-Thinaah reached the quarter-finals on their Games debut before losing to South Korea’s Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee.
