The world No 3 Malaysian pair fell 15-21, 14-21 to the Chinese duo in 44 minutes at the Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo.

With the loss, Pearly-Thinaah’s hopes of creating badminton history by becoming the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to win a Japan Open title were dashed.

They took home US$33,250 (RM141,170) as runners-up in the World Tour Super 750 event, while the winners pocketed US$70,300 (RM298,500).

It was the fourth win for Sheng Shu-Tan Ning against Pearly-Thinaah in five encounters so far.

They last met at the Indonesia Open final last month where the Chinese pair prevailed in three games.

Pearly-Thinaah have appeared in four finals at the World Tour championships this year but only won the Thailand Open in May.

So far, they have won four World Tour titles in their career.