[UPDATED] Pearly-Thinaah clinch historic win at French Open

KUALA LUMPUR – Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah created Malaysian history by being the country’s first badminton women’s doubles pair to clinch a French Open title after their victory in tonight’s final at Stade Pierre de Coubertine in Paris.

The victory was also their first Super 750 title.

In a stunning upset, the world number 11 duo overpowered their seventh-ranked contenders Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara of Japan in three sets, 21-19, 18-21, 21-15.

With this, the Commonwealth Games gold medallists won a total of US$44,400 (RM207,790) in prize money.

For the record, the closest a Malaysian women’s doubles pair has ever gotten to winning the title – since the tournament was held in 1908 – was through Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty, who were defeated in three sets by China’s Du Jing-Yu Yang in the 2008 final. 

Speaking after the match, Pearly and Thinaah said they were thrilled to be a part of history and vowed to improve their performance at higher-level tournaments.

“I think Europe is definitely a good place for us after having won a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

“It is also ‘double happiness’ for us today because we want to qualify for the World Tour finals. We are very happy that we can play at this level, and we just want to keep improving ourselves.

“This is also the beginning for us to boost our game to a higher level and definitely become stronger and stronger,” said Thinaah.

Pearly, who was out of commission for nearly two months following her hamstring injury at the Japan Open in September, added that the trust between the pair played a vital role in their success.

“It is unexpected for us. This win really boosts our confidence. Most important is the trust that we have with each other and with our coaches.”

During Friday’s quarter-finals, the duo upset another Japanese pair, third-ranked Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida, 21-18, 21-7.

Meanwhile, world number one Viktor Axelsen of Denmark won the men’s singles title after defeating compatriot Rasmus Gemke 21-14, 21-15. – The Vibes, October 30, 2022