National women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah suffer a surprise first-round exit at the Malaysia Open, falling to Indonesian rivals.
KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh from their SEA Games gold medal success, national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah suffered a shock early exit at the Malaysia Open.
The world number two duo were defeated by Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari in straight games at the Axiata Arena.
This marked their first loss in five meetings against the world number 60 Indonesian pair, who they had beaten in the SEA Games final just days prior.
Pearly-Thinaah lost the first-round match 24-26, 17-21 in 54 minutes after trailing badly early in the opening game.
“Of course, there is disappointment, but winning and losing are normal for athletes,” Pearly Tan told reporters after the match.
She acknowledged that their opponents “prepared very well for today, and they played better than us.”
Thinaah apologised to the packed home crowd, some of whom had travelled from afar to support them.
“I think this is something that we athletes have to learn from,” Thinaah said.
She expressed confidence in their ability to rebound, adding, “I’m glad that I have Pearly by my side, so we will keep supporting and reminding each other.”
The last Malaysian women’s doubles pair to win the home tournament was Teoh Siew Yong-Rosalind Singha Ang back in 1965.
