Pearly-Thinaah clinch semi-final spot in India Open

Pearly-Thinaah clinch semi-final spot in India Open

The world No 2 pair are on course to be the first Malaysians to clinch the women's doubles title since the tournament started in 1973.

Muralitharan Thinaah Pearly Tan
Pearly Tan-M Thinaah took just 32 minutes to defeat their Taiwanese rivals, but are not likely to have an easy match tomorrow. (EPA Images pic)
PETALING JAYA:
National women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah qualified for the semi-finals of the India Open today after defeating Taiwan’s top pair, Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung En Tzu, in straight games.

The world No 2 pair won 21-16, 21-10 in a match lasting just 32 minutes at the Indira Gandhi Sports Centre in New Delhi.

It was their third victory over the world No 9 Taiwanese pair in as many meetings.

Pearly-Thinaah will face a tough semi-final clash against either top Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto or South Korea’s No 1 duo of Jeong Na Eun-Lee Yeon Woo in the World Tour Super 750 championship tomorrow.

The Malaysians, who were also semi-finalists at the championships last year, are on course to make badminton history as no Malaysian pair have won the women’s doubles title at the India Open since its inception in 1973.

Pearly-Thinaah had a disappointing start to the World Tour season at last week’s Malaysia Open, where they were knocked out in the second round by an Indonesian pair.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.