KUALA LUMPUR: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah fought like tigresses but were denied a historic Merdeka double, as China‘s Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning snatched the women’s doubles crown at the World Championships in Paris on Sunday.
World No. 8 Pearly-Thinaah were left heartbroken after falling 14-21, 22-20, 17-21 in a pulsating 83-minute final against the world No. 1 pair at the Adidas Arena.
The defeat came just hours after Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei delivered Malaysia’s first-ever mixed doubles gold, meaning Pearly-Thinaah had to settle for silver in what still marked the nation’s best-ever overall performance at the World Championships.
It was the Malaysian pair’s third successive final loss to Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, following heartbreaks at the Indonesia and Japan Opens, but this defeat hurt more as it dashed hopes of becoming Malaysia’s first women’s doubles world champions on Merdeka Day.
Thinaah admitted the result was bittersweet.
“Honestly, we are really happy to enter the final at the World Championships, but we are a bit disappointed we couldn’t deliver the title,” she told the Badminton World Federation.
“But we also have to give credit to the opponents who played very well, pressured us and were also calm.
“Overall, it has been a good week here and we will definitely learn from this and be even better.
“I think we didn’t want to give easy points to the opponents and we will always fight for every point as long as the shuttle doesn’t hit the ground.”
Pearly revealed that a bold tactical shift helped them claw their way back in the second game.
“Yeah, she (Thinaah) did some flick serves which broke their rhythm and made them rush a bit while we remained calm.
“That strategy worked for us in the second game,” said Pearly.
Despite the painful loss, Thinaah insisted that their silver medal run has fuelled their belief for the future.
“This is the biggest tournament after the Olympics and this (result) helps to boost our confidence and motivates us to do even better in the future major events,” she said.
Malaysia may have been denied a dream double gold on Merdeka Day, but with one gold and one silver, Paris will be remembered as the country’s finest-ever World Championships.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
