PETALING JAYA: National women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M Thinaah cruised into the Kumamoto Masters semi-finals in Japan today, making it the 11th time they have entered the last four this year.
The world No 2 Malaysian pair, currently top in the list of qualifiers for the lucrative World Tour Finals next month, beat 16th-ranked Taiwanese pair Hsu Yin-hui-Lin Jhih-yun 21-13, 21-17 in a 30-minute match.
Pearly-Thinaah have now beaten their Taiwanese rivals twice in as many encounters.
In the semi-finals, the World Championships runners-up will take on either Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto or Hu Ling-fang-Jheng Yu-chieh of Taiwan.
In the women’s singles event, meanwhile, Malaysian giant-killer Wong Ling Ching fought gallantly against former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand before losing 17-21, 9-21 in a 36-minute match.