KUALA LUMPUR: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah showed no sign of fatigue as they battled past Indonesia’s Febriana Kusuma-Meilysa Puspitasari 20-22, 21-16, 22-20 in a pulsating first-round clash at the China Masters in Shenzhen today.
The world No. 2 pair needed 72 minutes to prevail in their third straight tournament appearance, having already played 10 matches in 22 days. The gruelling run included their historic silver medal at the World Championships in Paris and a semi-final finish at last week’s Hong Kong Open.
It was Pearly-Thinaah’s second win in as many weeks over Febriana-Meilysa, whom they also defeated in the last 16 in Hong Kong.
The Malaysians are firm favourites to reach the quarter-finals, with Americans Francesca Corbett-Jennie Gai next in line.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
