Source:REUTERS/Ann Wang
[Saba Sports News] On January 7, the first stop of the 2025 BWF World Tour, the Super 1000 Malaysia Open, kicked off. In the women’s doubles event, Malaysia’s top duo, Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan, lost to Indonesia’s Lanny Tria Mayasari and Rahayu Apriani with scores of 21:19, 14:21, 13:21, unfortunately getting eliminated in the first round. As Malaysia’s top women’s doubles players, Tan Pearly and Thinaah currently rank sixth in the world and were the third seeds in this tournament. Their opponents, ranked 80th in the world, showed a clear theoretical strength gap. However, as it was the first encounter between the two pairs, the “Pearly-Thinaah” duo was unprepared. They initially won but ultimately lost after three fiercely contested games, marking their third consecutive first-round exit at the Malaysia Open. In a post-match interview, Thinaah stated that their rhythm was controlled by their opponents in the final stages, leading to their defeat. She also thanked the home fans for their support and expressed regret for not winning the match. Tan Pearly mentioned that they would analyze the match with their coach to prepare adequately for the upcoming Super 750 series Indian Badminton Open next week.