SHUTTLERS Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah may have avoided a quarter-final clash with Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but their path to the semi-finals is far from straightforward.
Instead, the Malaysians will need to be wary of India’s Gayatri Gopichand-Treesa Jolly, who stunned the world No. 3 Japanese pair and Hangzhou 2022 bronze medallists 24-22, 21-18 in the second round yesterday at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium.
Pearly-Thinaah have the upper hand in their head-to-head record, having beaten the Indian pair six times in eight meetings.
However, their most recent meeting came two years ago at the 2024 World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, where Gayatri-Treesa got the better of them.
The Indian pair have also shown they are capable of causing upsets after claiming a surprise bronze medal at the World Championships in New Delhi last month.
Earlier, Pearly-Thinaah had little trouble booking their place in the quarter-finals after beating Thailand’s Napapakorn Tungkasatan-Hathaihip Mijad 21-8, 21-12.
A win over Gayatri-Treesa today would also see Pearly-Thinaah secure Malaysia’s first women’s doubles medal at the Asian Games in 12 years.
The last Malaysian pair to do so were Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei, who won bronze at Incheon 2014.
