KUALA LUMPUR: National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky has identified the reasons for women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah’s below-par performance en route to losing in the final of the 2025 Japan Open in Tokyo on Sunday.
Pearly-Thinaah stumbled in their bid to become the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to land the Japan Open title when they went down 21-15, 21-14 to world number one and defending champions Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
And from Rexy’s observations, it was a combination of the Malaysian pair failing to hit the heights and the Chinese pair getting their tactics spot-on.
Rexy said the way Pearly-Thinaah played in the final was the complete opposite of how they performed against Japan’s Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The Malaysians defeated Matsuyama-Shida 21-13, 21-11 with a near-perfect game to break their hoodoo against the home favourites, who had previously beaten them in 13 out of 14 encounters.
It was, however, a different case altogether in the final against the Chinese hotshots, said Rexy.
The Indonesian doubles expert said Sheng Shu-Tan Ning did not rush to score their points, built their momentum patiently and stuck to their well-structured game plan before striking at the right moments to put pressure on the Malaysians.
“They dragged Pearly and Thinaah away from the net and controlled the front of the net, making it very uncomfortable for the Malaysian girls.
“We must give the Chinese pair credit, they played really well, especially Tan Ning,” he told Bernama when contacted today.
Yesterday’s result also marked Pearly-Thinaah’s ninth defeat in 12 meetings against the Paris 2024 Olympic Games silver medallists.
Runners-up Pearly-Thinaah pocketed USD33,250 (about RM141,000) while champions Sheng Shu-Tan Ning walked away with USD70,300 (about RM298,000).
World number three Pearly-Thinaah equalled the achievement of compatriots Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui, who also finished as runners-up in the 2008 edition.
Pearly-Thinaah, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champions, have had a good season so far, winning the Thailand Open title in May and finishing second at the Indonesia Masters in January.
Pearly-Thinaah will now shift their focus to the China Open 2025, where the third seeds are slated to meet teammates Ong Xin Yee-Carmen Ting in the first round at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou.
The China Open will be from tomorrow until Sunday (July 27) – BERNAMA
