National women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah saw their India Open campaign come to an end after falling to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in the semi-finals on Saturday. It marked the third defeat in two months for the world No.2 Malaysia pair against the sixth-ranked Japanese duo, who had also beaten Pearly-Thinaah at the World Tour Finals group stage and semi-finals in China last month.
Japanese Duo in Control from Start to Finish
Playing at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, Yuki and Matsumoto were in firm control throughout the match, sealing a straight-games victory, 21-16, 21-13, in 45 minutes.
The result mirrored Pearly-Thinaah’s outing at last year’s tournament, where they were also eliminated at the semi-final stage.
Head-to-Head Advantage Remains with Malaysians
Despite the latest setback, Pearly-Thinaah still hold the upper hand in the head-to-head record, having won 5 of their 9 encounters against the Japanese pair.
The defeat also ended the Malaysian’s bid to become the first Malaysian pair to lift the women’s doubles title since the tournament’s inception in 1973.
The world championship runners-up had hoped to make a strong early-season statement following their first-round exit at the Malaysia Open last week, but their wait for another World Tour title continues. Their most recent triumph came at the Japan Masters in November last year.
Prize Money Earned
For their semi-final finish, Pearly-Thinaah took home US$13,300 (approximately RM54,000) in prize money.
While the early-season results have been mixed, the Malaysian pair remain among the world’s top contenders as the World Tour continues.
Sources: FMT
