KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, are eyeing an end to their title drought at this year’s Malaysia Masters with hopes boosted by the absence of top players.
Since their historic victory at the French Open in 2022, Pearly-Thinaah have been unable to add another championship title to their collection.
Despite reaching the finals at last year’s Malaysia Masters and the Hong Kong Open, they fell short of claiming the title, settling as runners-up.
With less than two months until the Paris Olympics, the 13th-ranked duo recognised the importance of securing a championship title to bolster their confidence for the world’s most prestigious sporting event.
The absence of top-ranked players in this year’s Malaysia Masters has elevated Pearly-Thinaah to the second seed, a step up from their sixth-seed position last year.
“Everyone wants to be a champion, and so do we. But we stick to the approach of taking one match at a time.
“We just want to focus on our game and try to avoid injuries.
“Last year is in the past, and there’s much we need to improve to clinch a championship title this year and move forward.
“For the past few tournaments, our performances have not been very good, and there’s a lot we need to work on.
“If we were to compare ourselves to other top players, we still have a long way to go, but we definitely want to be as great as them one day,” said Pearly.
Receiving a bye in the first round gave them a physical advantage, making them fresher for their match against Indian pair Simran Singhi-Ritika Thaker today.
They secured a victory with scores of 21-17, 21-11.
In tomorrow’s quarter-final matchup, they will face Australia’s Setyana Mapasa-Angela Yu, marking their first international showdown. – May 23, 2024