[UPDATED] M’sia Masters: Pearly-Thinaah inch closer to finals

KUALA LUMPUR – National women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah book their berth in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters today at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.

In the point-by-point match, the 10th ranked overpowered their opponent Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti of Indonesia in straight sets 21-18, 21-17 in 42 minutes.

The victory sets them a meeting with top seeds and Olympic silver medallist Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan of China in the semifinals.

Speaking to the media after the match, Pearly said she owed Thinaah for supporting her throughout the match, which helped her maintain focus on the court.

“I managed to stay calm and focused. We were aggressive but we did well,” she said.

Thinaah also noted that they did their best to lift the pressure off their shoulders so as to not rush to end the game.

“We only want to enjoy ourselves and do our best for tomorrow’s game, even though there is still room for improvement. We aim to do better,” she added.

Earlier, national women’s doubles pair Anna Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing were denied entry into the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters today at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.

The 37th ranked duo fell into the hands of South Korea’s Jeong Na Eun-Kim Hye Jeong – number 11 in the world – in straight sets 21-14, 21-18 in 44 minutes.

Mei Xing told reporters after the match that she has been coping with a shoulder injury since the tournament started. 

“We are pulling out of the Singapore Open (next week) because I have a minor injury on my shoulder. 

“I felt the pain when I played yesterday too, but I just have to hang in there,” she said. 

Anna-Mei Xing had recently defeated another higher ranked pair than today’s opponent, including world number six Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara in the last 16 round yesterday.

Despite feeling happy with their performances so far, Anna added that there are more areas to improve to stay consistent.

“We could feel that we are still lacking in a few areas in our gameplay today. It’s as if our opponent could read our moves.

“However, we do learn how to handle the pressure when we are leading and overcome our mistakes. These are lessons that only we could get from participating in tournaments like these,” Anna said.. – The Vibes, July 8, 2022