National women’s double badminton pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah are setting their goal on a breakthrough performance at the prestigious All England Championships, which is scheduled to take place from 10th-16th March in Arena Birmingham. The duo is currently ranked world No.6, and is determined to advance beyond the quarter finals, a stage that eluded them in their last three appearances.
Despite their struggles in the past games, Pearly and Thinaah remain optimistic and motivated especially after a string of strong performances in the international games. They recently reached the semi finals of the India Open and finished as runner up at the Indonesia Masters, marking their place as serious contenders for the upcoming All England tournament.
Having consistently performed at the high level competitions, the pair is now aiming to surpass the national best record in the women’s doubles category, which was set by Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty in 2007, when they reached the semi-finals.
Thinaah has emphasized that while the goal is to go further this time, they are approaching the tournament with a balanced mindset.
“We definitely hope to go further this time after being stuck in the quarter-finals for so long, but we don’t want to pressure ourselves by overthinking. We always take things one match at a time”
She acknowledges that their past record at the tournaments are motivating them and it is very important to remain focused on performance rather than external expectations.
Before heading to their next big game in Birmingham, Pearly and Thinaah will compete in next week’s Orleans Masters in France. Where they will enter as the top seeds. The competition will serve as an important preparation for them. Among their potential opponents in both tournaments are Japan’s Kie Nakanishi-Rin Iwanaga, as well as new combinations such as Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto, South Korea’s Kong Hee Yong-Kim Hye Jeong and China’s Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian, all who have played fewer than seven tournaments together.
In addition to that, China’s Olympic gold medalist Chen Qing Chen, who is debuting with his new combination Wang Ting Ge at German open is another competitor expected to rise in the competition.
Adapting to New Challenges
Thinaah highlighted that despite being newly formed, these combinations are composed of experienced world-class players, making them just as important and strong as established teams. She noted that the Korean Pair Kong hee Yong-Kim Hye Jeong were the reason for their halt in both India and Indonesia.
“We’re already familiar with most of these players individually. They were all previously world top five players, just with different partners. New pairings bring fresh styles that can catch us off guard so we must be prepared for unexpected shots and strategies”.
While acknowledging the thread by these pairings, she emphasized that the key to success and goals is focusing on their own performances. As the fourth seed at the All England Championship, Pearly and Thinaah enter the tournament with a clearer goal and confidence to break past the quarter final barrier and create a new chapter in Malaysian women’s double history.
Sources: NST
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