Their most memorable moment came in the opening game when they staged a brilliant comeback when the Japanese duo had three game points.

The world No 2 pair was trailing 17-20 but overcame the deficit to beat Yuki-Mayu 24-22, 23-21 in an energy-sapping semi-final which lasted 57 minutes at the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.

It was also sweet revenge for Pearly-Thinaah who were knocked out by the Japanese duo at last year’s Kumamoto Masters in the first round. Pearly-Thinaah have now beaten their Japanese rivals five times in their six encounters so far.

This is a record seventh final appearance for the World Championships runners-up this year. They won two of the six finals so far, at the Thailand and Arctic Opens.

The Japanese pair too, had their moments when they saved six match points when trailing 14-20 in the second game before losing the tie eventually.

In the final tomorrow, the Malaysians will be up against world No 7 Japanese pair Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakashini, whom they have beaten six times in their eight encounters so far.

Pearly-Thinaah currently sit at the top of the list of women’s doubles qualifiers for the RM12.5 million season finale World Tour Finals to be played next month in Hangzhou, China.