KUALA LUMPUR – Women’s doubles duo Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah were clearly in a class of their own when they became the only Malaysians to book a slot in the semi-finals of the German Open in Mulheim.
The world number six pair defeated Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara 21-17, 18-21, 21-11 in the quarter-finals of the Super 300 tournament early this morning (Friday night in Germany).
The 2022 Commonwealth Games champions will square off against top-seeded Japanese pair Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida at about midnight tonight Malaysian time in their quest to book a ticket to the final.
In their past clashes, Pearly-Thinaah, who are seeded third in the tournament, have only beaten Nami-Chiharu once – at the 2022 French Open – while having lost to the second-ranked Japanese pair seven times.
Meanwhile, national mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei lost to world number 14 duo Kim Won Ho-Jeong Na Eun of South Korea, 20-22, 14-21 in a quarter-final clash that lasted 41 minutes. – Bernama, March 11, 2023
