Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah were left to settle for bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after their bid to reach the women’s doubles final ended with a hard-fought defeat to China’s world No.1 pair Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning.
The world No. 5 Malaysians started strongly at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, taking the opening game 21-16. However, the Chinese pair responded in a tense second game, edging Pearly and Thinaah 22-20 before taking control of the decider 21-12 after 85 minutes.
The result ended Pearly and Thinaah’s hopes of becoming the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to reach an Asian Games final. Malaysia has never reached the women’s doubles final since badminton was introduced at the Games in 1962.
Despite the disappointment, their bronze medal carries its own significance. It ends Malaysia’s 12-year wait for a women’s doubles medal at the Asian Games, with Vivian Hoo and Woon Khe Wei the last pair to achieve the feat at the 2014 Incheon Games.
For Pearly and Thinaah, the semifinal was another reminder of how fine the margins can be against the world's best.
The Malaysians had opportunities to put the match away in the second game, but Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning remained composed during the crucial points. Once the match went into a decider, the Chinese pair maintained their pace and pressure while Pearly and Thinaah struggled to regain the momentum they had enjoyed earlier.
Pearly admitted afterwards that the Malaysians were not calm enough when the pressure increased, while praising their opponents for showing greater maturity in the key moments.
"So close but still so far. We were not calm enough on the crucial points, while they, although younger, were very mature, and that is something we need to learn from them," Pearly said.
Source: NST
Thinaah also acknowledged the disappointment but said the pair could take plenty of positives from their Asian Games campaign. They plan to review the match and identify the areas that need improvement before returning to competition.
The defeat also continued Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning's strong record against the Malaysians. The Chinese pair now have 11 wins from 14 meetings between the two partnerships.
For national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky, the Asian Games remain an important reference point as Malaysia looks towards its next major goals.
Rexy had previously identified the Aichi-Nagoya Games as an important marker for Malaysia's progress towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Before the Games, he had also said the coaching team wanted to use the performances of the country's leading pairs to assess what needed to be improved ahead of the next Olympic cycle.
Pearly and Thinaah's bronze gives Malaysia another podium finish in the event, but their run also highlights the gap that remains between the country's leading pair and the world's top partnerships.
For now, however, the Malaysians can take pride in ending a 12-year medal drought and matching the best result ever achieved by a Malaysian women's doubles pair at the Asian Games.
The final remains out of reach, but Pearly and Thinaah leave Aichi-Nagoya with a bronze medal and another valuable lesson against the world's best.
