KUALA LUMPUR – National women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, cruised into the quarterfinals of the World Championship in style after defeating Japan’s world number four pair, Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, 21-14, 22-20 at the Royal Arena, Copenhagen, today.
The victory saw the national pair overcome their rivals after having lost to the 2022 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists earlier this year, at the All-England championship.
The dynamic duo also became the first-ever Malaysian women’s doubles players to qualify for the world championship quarterfinals.
“I’m happy to know that we are the first-ever women’s pair to qualify for the next stage in this prestigious championship,” Thinaah said.
“We would like to take this moment to thank our family members for believing in us and always supporting us since day one,” Pearly added.
In the mixed doubles game, Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei secured a spot in the next round despite having a tough start against France’s Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue.
The world number 14 pair defeated the French duo, who recently won a silver medal in the 2023 European Games, 20-22, 21-19, 21-12, in a rubber-set game that lasted for 1 hour and 14 minutes.
“We are almost similar to our opponents on the court as we both share the same hunger to win the game. We nearly lost the second set, but I told Ee Wei to stay calm and just face defeat if we happen to lose the game,” Tang Jie said.
“As a pair, we are prepared to face our opponents in the next match, and we are ready to give our best tomorrow after our recovery,” Ee Wei added.
However, earlier today, national mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing were eliminated from the tournament as they were defeated by China’s world number 8 pair, Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin, in their round of 16 match.
The Chinese pair easily cruised past the Malaysians, winning the game 21-16, 21-18 in just 30 minutes. – August 24, 2023