SHUTTLERS Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah may have won bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but there was still disappointment after they fell just short of reaching the final.
Their run ended with a 21-16, 20-22, 12-21 defeat to China’s Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in the semi-finals at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi yesterday.
Pearly-Thinaah were visibly emotional during the post-match interview but said they had given everything they could against the Chinese pair.
“First of all, I want to thank everyone for supporting us all the time,” said Thinaah in a post-match interview with Hotspot Malaysia.
“Even though we didn’t perform well, we are still slowly finding our own playing style, our strategy, our game and our communication.
“For those who have been supporting us from day one, I am really grateful and hopefully you guys keep supporting us in the future.”
Despite missing out on the final, Pearly-Thinaah were pleased to have found some of their form again after a difficult few months.
It was especially encouraging for Pearly, who had also been dealing with a series of injuries.
“I think the biggest gain is that we were able to play these matches and slowly find our rhythm again,” said Pearly.
“With every match, we are slowly getting back to the things we used to do well.
“So we are becoming more confident in each other and I hope we can continue to work hard in the tournaments to come.”
Pearly also looked relaxed on court against the Chinese pair and was often seen smiling during the match.
“I think I had a smile on my face because I really enjoyed every point on court, whether I won or lost it.
“But I think we did our best, so for me, that is something to be happy about,” she added.
Pearly-Thinaah’s semi-final defeat also brought Malaysia’s badminton campaign at the Asian Games to a close.
Their bronze, at least, ended a 12-year wait for a women’s doubles medal since Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei achieved the feat at Incheon 2014.
But overall, it was still a disappointing campaign for Malaysia, who had initially targeted at least one silver and one bronze.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Alwi Farhan (Ina) 21-13, 21-15; Loh Kean Yew (Sin) bt Yoo Tae-bin (Kor) 21-19, 19-21, 21-12.
Men’s doubles: Daniel Marthin-Leo Rolly (Ina) bt Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) 21-11, 21-14; Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) bt Fajar Alfian-Shohibul Fikri (Ina) 21-17, 13-21, 21-9.
Women’s singles: Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Wang Zhiyi (Chn) 21-11, 22-20; An Se-young (Kor) bt Chen Yufei (Chn) 21-5, 21-12.
Women’s doubles: Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) bt Kie Nakanishi-Rin Uesaka (Jpn) 21-13, 21-12; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah (Mas) 16-21, 22-20, 21-12.
Mixed doubles: Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina (Ina) bt Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) 21-12, 21-14; Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Ye Hong-wei-Nicole Gonzales (Tpe) 21-13, 21-9.
