Double the plus points

PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles shuttler M. Thinaah believes that coach Rosman Razak’s qualities could help elevate her and Pearly Tan’s game.

Pearly-Thinaah are set to be reunited with Rosman – who first paired them up during their days in the back-up squad – after the latter was re-appointed by the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) as the women’s doubles head coach.

Rosman will begin his duties at the Academy Badminton of Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Nov 5 and Thinaah is looking forward to working with him again.

“Every coach has his or her strengths and I hope coach Rosman’s strengths can add more to our game and help us to me more consistent,” said Thinaah.

“He is someone who is calm and steady, and this also something that Pearly and I need in our game especially during crucial points where sometimes we are too eager.

“These kind of small things can make a big difference for us.”

Thinaah is also excited to work with Rosman again as he was an instrumental figure in shaping her career.

The 26-year-old started out as a singles player but she struggled and Rosman then helped her switch to the doubles and combined her with Pearly in 2012.

“I feel happy to have coach Rosman back as because of him, I’m a doubles player. Last time, he accepted me when I didn’t want to continue in the singles,” said Thinaah.

“To work with him again is something really exciting and we are really looking forward to it.”

Thinaah and Pearly have been in good form over the past few months and are currently ranked seventh in the world.

They did reach a career high No. 5 in 2022 after capturing the French Open, which remains their biggest title so far.

Pearly-Thinaah have recaptured some of the form they showed in 2022 this year after they reached three finals in as many months, capturing the Hong Kong Open and finishing runners-up in the Korean and Arctic Opens.

The pair will next compete in the back-to-back Japan Masters (Nov 12-17) and China Masters (Nov 19-27).

Pearly-Thinaah are also assured of a spot in the prestigious season ending World Tour Finals from Dec 11-15 in Hangzhou for the second time after making their debut in 2022.

Meanwhile, Thinaah expressed sadness over the exclusion of badminton in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

She and Pearly had captured gold in the last edition in 2022 in Birmingham and were hoping to defend their title.

“It’s a bit sad that badminton won’t be in the Commonwealth Games in 2026,” said Thinaah.

“These kinds of Games will only be held once in four years, so yes, it is sad but at the same time we respect their decision.”