KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 2 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah picked up from where they left off at the SEA Games after opening their BWF World Tour Finals campaign with a commanding Group A win over China‘s world No. 4 Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian in Hangzhou today (Dec 17).
Showing no signs of fatigue following their SEA Games assignments, Pearly-Thinaah flexed their muscles to post an impressive 21-17, 21-11 victory over a pair they had not officially beaten in six meetings this year.
Their only previous non-completed encounter came at the India Open, where Yi Fan-Shu Xian were forced to retire midway through the match due to injury.
Thereafter, the Chinese pair proved a thorn in Pearly-Thinaah’s side, handing the Malaysians defeats in all five subsequent meetings.
Pearly-Thinaah have been in buoyant mood after playing a starring role in Malaysia’s women’s doubles gold at the SEA Games, ending the country’s 10-year wait for the title.
Group A also features two Japanese pairs — Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto and Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi — with the former earlier opening their campaign with a 21-14, 21-14 win.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
