Malaysia’s women’s doubles stars Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah suffered a shocking first-round exit at the Japan Masters 2026 after losing to a newly formed Japanese partnership on Tuesday (Nov 10).
The world No. 4 Malaysian pair, who entered the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament as the second seeds, were defeated by Ririna Hiramoto and Chiharu Shida, ranked 214th in the world, in a three-game battle lasting 64 minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
Pearly-Thinaah initially looked set for a promising start after claiming the opening game 21-18. However, the Malaysians struggled to maintain their momentum, allowing the Japanese duo to take control of the match and win the next two games 21-13 and 21-14.
The defeat was particularly surprising as Hiramoto and Shida had only started playing together last month, making this just their third tournament as a partnership. Despite their relatively new combination, Shida brings valuable experience from previously winning several major titles with different partners.
The early exit comes after an impressive year for Pearly-Thinaah, who secured two World Tour titles in 2026, winning the Indonesia Masters in January and the Denmark Open last month.
Despite the setback, the Malaysian duo remain in a strong position to qualify for the prestigious BWF World Tour Finals, scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from Dec 9 to 13. They currently lead the qualification standings, with only the top eight pairs in each category earning a place in the season-ending tournament.
While their Japan Masters title defence has come to an unexpected end, Pearly-Thinaah will now look to regroup and regain their winning momentum ahead of the remaining competitions this season.
Source: FMT
