Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah know they cannot afford to carry their recent bad habits into the Asian Games after another early exit at the China Masters.
The world No. 5 Malaysians were beaten by Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard 16-21, 21-17, 19-21 in a 67-minute second-round battle at the Shenzhen Arena on Thursday.
Pearly admitted that simple mistakes have become a recurring problem for the experienced pair and said they need to address the issue immediately.
"It has become a habit, all the simple mistakes on court. We really need to have a serious look at it," she told the Badminton World Federation.
The defeat adds to a disappointing run for Pearly-Thinaah, who also suffered a second-round exit at the World Championships in India before arriving in China.
With the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya beginning on Sept 19, Pearly knows the pair have little time to make changes.
"Hopefully, we can implement some changes within the next two weeks," she said.
The Malaysians also identified the need to become more aggressive in their approach as they prepare for the continental Games.
"The positive is that we now have a clear understanding of the areas that require improvement. We need to be more aggressive and we'll work hard to implement that before the Asiad."
While Pearly-Thinaah's campaign came to an end, Malaysia enjoyed better fortunes in the mixed doubles.
Professionals Hoo Pang Ron-Lai Pei Jing produced one of the day's biggest upsets by defeating sixth seeds Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi of China 24-22, 21-19 in 48 minutes.
The victory was particularly sweet for the Malaysian pair, who had lost to the same opponents at the Malaysian Masters in March.
Pang Ron and Pei Jing will face Taiwan's Liu Kuang-heng-Hsu Yin-hui in the quarter-finals.
Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie also booked their place in the last eight after beating Japan's Akira Koga-Natsu Saito 21-14, 19-21, 21-10.
For Pearly and Thinaah, however, the focus now turns quickly to the Asian Games. With only two weeks left, the Malaysians will need to eliminate their costly errors and rediscover their attacking edge if they are to challenge for honours in Aichi-Nagoya.
