Pearly-Thinaah face gruelling test in expected clash with Japan’s world No. 4 at China Open

PETALING JAYA: An intriguing clash against Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota is on the cards for shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah in the second round of the China Open starting next Tuesday in Changzhou.

The national women’s doubles pair and Fukushima-Hirota should have little trouble overcoming Dutch pair Debora Jille-Cheryl Seinen and Germany’s Linda Efler-Isabel Lohau respectively in the first round to set up a meeting against each other.

Both world No. 11 Pearly-Thinaah and their rivals from the Land of the Rising Sun are evenly matched based on the head-to-head records as both have beaten the other three times.

Their last encounter was at the Malaysian Masters in May where the former triumphed 13-21, 21-19, 21-16 at home in an epic battle.

Pearly-Thinaah had also come out on top against world No. 4 Fukushima-Hirota in last year’s home Masters and Thailand Open.

The latter, on the other hand, defeated the Malaysians in the 2022 Asian Championships and Indonesian Open and the Indonesian Masters in January.

Pearly-Thinaah face a tough task this time as they have never scored back-to-back wins over their opponents.

They also need to put aside their agonising 21-17, 19-21, 17-21 defeat to China’s Zhang Shuxian-Zheng Yu in the quarter-finals of the World Championships last month and refocus on the China tourney.

Pearly-Thinaah had led 11-5 in the second game but could not hold on.

The duo were left in tears after missing out on a golden opportunity to become the first women’s doubles pair from Malaysia to win a medal at the world meet.

A win over Fukushima-Hirota will do a world of good for Pearly-Thinaah’s confidence after their heartbreaking exit.

Their path, though, will not get any easier as they will likely take on home favourites and reigning world champions Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan in the last eight if they can beat the Japanese pair.

Pearly-Thinaah have never beaten Qingchen-Yifan in any of their past five encounters in international competitions.

The other Malaysian representatives in the fray in the women’s doubles are Anna Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing and independent pair Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien.