Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M.Thinaah endured another frustrating chapter in their game with South Korea’s Kim Hye Jeong and Kong Hee Yong, as they fall short in the first round of the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) in Ningbo, China.
World No. 5 rank, Pearly and Thinaah battled hard but ultimately lost with the score of 21-19, 28-26, in 57 minutes, this marks their third loss to the Korean duo this year. Previously they had taken an fall to the same opponents in the Indonesia Masters final and India Open semi-finals in January.
This defeat was led by the Malaysian pair with 11-5 in the opening game but failed to convert six game points in the second, missing the opportunity. The early exit at BAC also snapped Pearly and Thinaah’s consistency, as it marked their first round exit since the Malaysia Open in January, following a strong run of four straigh quarter final appearance or better on the BWF World Tour.
Other women doubles, Malaysians Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing, won against Carmen Ting and Ong Xin Yee with 18-21,21-19,21-16 in an all Malaysian showdown. Pei Kee and Mei Xing will now face a hard challenge, where they will face Olympic Champions Jia Yi Fan and Chen Qin Chen of China.
As BAC continues, Malaysia’s hope in women’s doubles will now rest on Pei kee and Mei Xing, while Pearly Thinaah will bounce back stronger in their upcoming tournaments.
Sources: NST
