PETALING JAYA: It is her deep love for the game that keeps shuttler Pearly Tan going.
Pearly-M. Thinaah are on the brink of winning their second French Open title after reaching the women's doubles final with a 21-17, 22-20 victory over Japan's Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi at Grand Arena Paris on Saturday (Oct 24).
They will face top seeds Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsutomo of Japan on Sunday (Oct 25), against whom they have a 5-5 head-to-head record.
This year, however, the Malaysians have yet to beat the Japanese pair, having lost to them at the Opens in China and India.
But Pearly is not focusing on winning. Instead, she is concentrating on the process.
"I just love badminton so much. I enjoy every moment I play, every shot I play," said Pearly, who is working her way back to form after struggling with injuries and self-doubt.
"When I enjoy the game, I don't really think about winning or losing. I just think about how I am going to play every rally and every shot."
With this attitude, Pearly will be looking to complement Thinaah's game as they aim to become the first Malaysian women's doubles pair to win back-to-back World Tour 750 titles, having lifted the Denmark Open crown last week.
Thinaah said they had grown as players since winning the French Open title in 2022.
"We have come a long way. There have been a lot of obstacles. Back then, we did not expect to win the title," said Thinaah.
"But coming back to this tournament, we know that a lot of people have high expectations of us, and we want to turn those expectations into motivation for both of us to keep going.
"We have enjoyed every part of the journey, and that is the positive thing."
