Malaysia’s top women’s doubles star Thinaah Muralitharan savours her SEA Games debut, treating it with the same intensity as the Olympics and World Tour.
DESPITE being Malaysia’s most successful women’s doubles player on the World Tour and at the Olympics, M. Thinaah finds her long-awaited SEA Games debut equally significant.
The 27-year-old, making her first appearance at the biennial Games with partner Pearly Tan, stated that every competition demands the same level of focus and commitment.
“It doesn’t matter whether you play World Tour tournaments, Olympic Games or Asian Games but this is also a big tournament for us,” Thinaah told reporters.
She added that representing Malaysia at the SEA Games is special, with the sole objective being to give their all and leave no regrets on court.
Earlier, the world number two pair and 2025 World Championships runners-up secured a hard-fought point in the women’s team semi-finals.
They prevailed against Indonesia’s Rachel Allessya Rose and Febi Setianingrum 21-14, 17-21, 21-16 to level the tie at 1-1.
However, Malaysia eventually lost the semi-final 2-3 after Indonesia’s Mutiara Ayu Puspitasari won the decisive fifth match.
Malaysia last reached the final as hosts in 2017, losing to Thailand.
Their last gold medal in the women’s team event came in 2009 when they beat Indonesia.
The 2025 SEA Games in Thailand runs from December 9 to 20 across Bangkok and Chonburi.
