MALAYSIA may be facing a David-versus-Goliath battle against defending champions South Korea tomorrow, but Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah could hold the key to their hopes of pulling off an upset in the women’s team quarter-finals.
Malaysia are likely to stick with the same line-up that beat Hong Kong 3-0 in the first round yesterday.
But K. Letshanaa will have a tough opening match against world No. 1 An Se-young in the first singles.
That means Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah could have a big part to play in the second match, especially if Malaysia find themselves trailing 1-0.
A win for the pair would not only bring Malaysia back into the tie, but could also give the rest of the team the confidence to push South Korea all the way.
However, it will not be an easy task for Pearly-Thinaah, who are likely to face world No. 2 Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee.
The Koreans hold a 4-3 advantage in their head-to-head record and won their most recent meeting in the All-England semi-finals in March.
Still, Pearly-Thinaah have beaten them before and will know they have a chance of turning the tables.
The match could also be a repeat of their quarter-final clash at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, where Ha-na-So-hee ended Pearly-Thinaah’s medal hopes.
Malaysia will also need Wong Ling Ching, who could face world No. 12 Kim Ga-eun, to rise to the occasion, while Cheng Su Yin-Low Zi Yu are likely to be fielded as the second women’s doubles pair.
Pearly-Thinaah will have a day to work on their game before the quarter-finals after beating Yeung Nga Ting-Yeung Pui Lam 21-11, 21-17 at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi.
Letshanaa had earlier given Malaysia the opening point with a 21-9, 21-16 win over Lo Sin Yan before Wong Ling Ching completed the tie by beating Liang Ka Wing 21-17, 21-14.
