KUALA LUMPUR: Women’s doubles ace Pearly Tan has paid tribute to her partner M. Thinaah for playing a huge role in their history-making run on the world stage.
Fresh from becoming Malaysia’s first-ever silver medallists at the World Championships in Paris last month, the world No. 2 refused to rest and pushed on through fatigue in search of more glory on the World Tour.
Known for their fighting spirit, Pearly-Thinaah reached the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open before falling to China‘s world No. 4 Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian (21-14, 21-11), then suffered a heartbreaking exit in the China Masters quarter-finals on Friday against South Korea‘s world No. 7 Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee (23-21, 19-21, 22-20).
Pearly admitted none of their success would have been possible without Thinaah’s trust and support.
“I’m so lucky and grateful to have someone who always backs me, understands me, pushes through the fatigue and fights alongside me no matter how tough it gets,” Pearly wrote on Instagram and Facebook.
“Not just for the wins, but during the moments when we had nothing left.
“Now it’s time to rest, to heal, to grow and to fight again.”
The intense competition in women’s doubles has taken its toll across the field, with newly-crowned world champions and world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning also crashing out at both the Hong Kong (second round) and China Masters (quarter-finals).
But Pearly-Thinaah are already looking ahead with renewed focus as they gear up for a European swing next month.
They will play in the Arctic Open (Oct 7-12), Denmark Open (Oct 9-14) and French Open (Oct 16-21).
The pair were runners-up at the Arctic Open last year and famously won their maiden Super 750 crown at the 2022 French Open.
With the World Championships silver now in their collection, the Malaysians are determined to deliver more breakthroughs in Europe.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
