The world No 15 Malaysians went down 21-18 in an intense first game of their second-round clash against the Japanese pair.

However, Pearly-Thinaah showed great composure to win the next two games 21-19, 21-16 and send the world No 25 Japanese pair packing after a thrilling 75-minute battle.

On paper, it looks like Pearly-Thinaah should be able to reach the semifinals as they will be facing world No 64 pair Jeong Na Eun-Kim Hye Jeong in the last eight after the South Koreans eliminated Thailand’s Supissara Paewsampran-Puttita Supajirakul 19-21, 21-13, 21-13 earlier.

The Malaysian pair did well when they made their debut at the prestigious All England last year, reaching the quarterfinals where they lost to Japan’s Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida.

Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for independent men’s doubles shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi.

The eighth-seeded Malaysians, ranked 11th in the world, crashed out after losing 22-24, 21-13, 17-21 to world No 28 pair Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Bagas Maulana of Indonesia.