KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian squash legend Datuk Nicol Ann David has expressed her sincere gratitude to national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, after their excellent performance at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
In a Facebook post, Nicol, who is also the Deputy Chef de Mission for Malaysia, acknowledged the pain of the duo’s defeat, at the same time praising their remarkable journey and unwavering spirit on their debut at the biggest sporting event on the planet.
“I know this moment will be painful, and it will hurt for some time. I can’t truly say or do anything to change that, because it’s a process you will both have to go through.
“But what I can definitely say is that when things settle, you will be able to see things with different eyes and reflect with pride on what you accomplished,” she said.
In the same post, Nicol also revealed the difficulties that the two players had to go through before the Olympics, where both of the players struggled with injury and health problems.
“ A few weeks ago, you were battling injuries, sickness, and frustration, but what I admire about you two is that you have each other’s back and trust each other.
“The semi finals were brutal, and you both put everything you had out there, everything to reach that final, and poured yourselves out. I know that feeling of just pushing so hard and having nothing left, but nonetheless you persevered and still fought in your last match,” she said.
Nicol added that Pearly-Thinaah should be proud of themselves for becoming the first Malaysian women’s pair to reach the Olympic semi-finals, despite their ranking outside of the top eight.
“You made the world number one pair tremble to their feet, and you got 4th place. The journey has been absolutely beautiful, amazing, and you both went through so many challenges the last two years, and you’re Olympians, and you made a whole country dream,” she said.
Nicol also praised both athletes who displayed true sportsmanship and values, embracing their opponents with love and kindness after their match, a moment that will forever define them as legends.
Yesterday, Pearly-Thinaah’s hopes of contributing their country’s first medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics were dashed when they lost in the bronze medal playoff against the world number four pair from Japan, Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida. 11-21, 11-21.
