NATIONAL women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah captured the Arctic Open 2025 title with a commanding victory over Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi in Vantaa, Finland.
The Malaysian second seeds dominated their Japanese opponents with a comprehensive 21-7, 21-9 win in just 32 minutes at the Vantaan Energia Areena.
Pearly-Thinaah produced an explosive start in the opening game against the third-seeded Japanese pair with aggressive attacking play and precision shots.
They established an early 11-4 advantage and continued their relentless pressure after the interval.
The Malaysian duo extended their lead to 18-6 through a series of well-executed shots before securing the first game comfortably.
World number two Pearly-Thinaah maintained their intensity throughout the second game without showing any signs of relaxation.
They raced to an 11-3 lead at the interval and closed out the match when Nakanishi failed to return Pearly’s final shot.
Today’s victory represents their sixth win in eight meetings against the Japanese pair since their first encounter at the 2019 Sydney International.
Pearly-Thinaah, who were runners-up at the 2025 World Championships, claimed their second title this year following their Thailand Open triumph in May.
The Malaysian pair also reached finals at the Japan Open, Indonesian Open, and Indonesian Masters earlier this season.
They avenged their loss in last year’s Arctic Open final where they fell to China’s Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning.
As Arctic Open 2025 champions, Pearly-Thinaah earned US$37,525 (approximately RM159,000) in prize money.
The Japanese runners-up Iwanaga-Nakanishi received US$18,050 (approximately RM76,000) for their efforts. – Bernama
