KUALA LUMPUR – Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria praised the fighting spirit displayed by women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah at the ongoing Malaysian Masters.
“The fighting spirit that Pearly and Thinaah have shown has been extraordinary.
“Their never-say-die attitude should be an example to others. They are warriors who have made the country proud,” he said.
On Thursday, the pair battled tooth and nail to beat Japanese pair Rena Miyaura-Ayako Sakuramoto, including coming out tops in a gruelling 211-shot rally in the third set to win 21-17, 18-21, 21-19 in 1 hour and 29 minutes.
They then had to play another three-setter against another Japanese pair and world number four Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota.
Fatigued from the previous match, they pushed through to mount a comeback from a set down to win 13-21, 21-19, 21-16 in a one-hour and 56-minute-long battle.
Yesterday, they overcame South Korean pair Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong, 21-19, 23-21. They were down 12-2 in the second set but managed to claw back the deficit to win the match and book their final appearance tomorrow.
Norza, who is also the Olympic Council of Malaysia president, hopes the courageous display of Pearly and Thinaah can light a spark in Malaysia’s Olympic qualifying campaign for Paris 2024.
“We need that type of spirit to build momentum as we are in the early stages of Olympic qualifying.
“We can see at the Sudirman Cup that some players have stepped up to the plate and improved, especially in the doubles.
“They are doing well, I hope our singles players will follow suit as we need them to rise to the occasion and fill in the gaps,” said the Badminton Asia honorary president. – The Vibes, May 28, 2023
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