Pearly Tan-M Thinaah’s dream of final berth shattered

KUALA LUMPUR: National women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M Thinaah fell short of reaching the finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics after losing to the Chinese duo Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan earlier today.

According to Berita Harian, in the match held at Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Pearly and Thinaah were defeated in a three-set battle that lasted 78 minutes.

Starting off with a shaky performance and trailing from the beginning, Pearly and Thinaah lost the first set 12-21.

However, they showcased improved gameplay in the second set, winning 21-18 and forcing the match to a deciding set.

Despite a strong fight in the final set, the national pair could not sustain their momentum as Qing Chen and Yi Fan clinched the match with a 21-15 victory to secure a spot in the finals.

This was Pearly and Thinaah’s second loss to the world’s top-ranked pair in the Paris Olympics, following their defeat of 17-21, 20-22 in the Group A stage last Saturday.

Yesterday, Pearly and Thinaah made history as the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to reach the Olympic semi-finals after defeating South Korean pair Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong, the bronze medalists from the previous edition, with scores of 21-12, 21-13.

Pearly and Thinaah will compete for the bronze medal against either another Chinese pair, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, or Japanese representatives Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida.