KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah created the biggest upset for the Malaysian team at the All England Championships by defeating the world number one pair, Chen Qing Chen-Ji Yi Fan from China in the second round today.
The Malaysian duo maintained a strong momentum to thwart all attacks from their opponents before securing a victory with a score of 22-20, 21-16.
This result sees Pearly-Thinaah becoming the second Malaysian representatives to advance to the All England quarter-finals, following men’s singles player Lee Zii Jia’s victory over Loh Kean Yew earlier.
In their five previous encounters dating back to 2022, Pearly-Thinaah had yet to secure a victory against the Chinese pairs.
Tomorrow, they will confront the 11th-ranked duo, Rena Miyaura-Ayako Sakuramoto from Japan, in the quarter-finals.
“Certainly, this win boosts our confidence, given our recent struggles. Each loss serves as motivation for us to regroup, refine our skills, and strive for improvement.
“Despite today’s triumph, there are still areas we need to improve,” remarked Thinaah in a post-match interview with BWF.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s mixed doubles campaign in this championship came to an end as Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai, the last remaining representative, fell to the Chinese pair, Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping, who were also the fourth seed.
Soon Huat-Shevon struggled to overcome the Chinese duo, resulting in a match ending with a score of 12-21, 5-21.
“The way they placed the shuttlecock in our court was very effective and they also had good control.
“We wanted it (winning) so much, yet we made too many mistakes like shot selections, which affected our confidence and momentum in the second set.
“There is much to learn from this,” said Shevon.
Soon Huat and Shevon will continue their European tour by participating in the Swiss Open, which will begin on March 19. – March 14, 2024