History-makers Pearly-Thinaah smash into Olympics semis

PETALING JAYA: Pumped-up Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah put up a fantastic show to become Malaysia’s first women’s doubles pair to reach the semi-finals at the Olympics on Thursday (Aug 1).

The top Malaysian pair outclassed Kim So-young-Kong Hee-yong of South Korea 21-12, 21-13 in 39 minutes in the quarter-finals at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle.

Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei were the only other Malaysian women pair who have reached the quarter-final stage before but they were beaten by eventual gold medallists Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi of Japan at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

However, Pearly-Thinaah did not let slip a golden opportunity as they put up a polished performance against the off-form South Koreans to also become the first Malaysia’s representatives in the semi-final stage in Paris.

They will face top seeds and world No. 1 Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan of China in the semis.

They have beaten the Chinese pair once at this year’s second round of the All-England.