PETALING JAYA: Whether by design or chance, world No. 2 women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah’s loss in their final Group A match at the World Tour Finals yesterday ended China’s Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian’s campaign.
Pearly-Thinaah went down 15-21, 21-16, 19-21 to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto, a result that kept the Japanese pair’s semi-final hopes alive as they advanced into the last four alongside the Malaysians.
However, Pearly-Thinaah stressed that they were given a tough fight by Fukushima-Matsumoto, who were also aiming for their first-ever semi-final appearance.
“I’m really happy with my training so far, but looking back on today’s (yesterday) match, I think in the first set we didn’t play the way we wanted to. In the second set, we discussed how to execute certain shots and it went better.
“In the deciding set, the key was just to keep supporting each other and stay calm in the pressure moments. Towards the end, the Japanese played really well and put us under a lot of pressure,” said Thinaah in a post match interview with BWF.
All three pairs finished tied on two points after recording two wins each, but Pearly-Thinaah emerged as Group A winners based on game and points difference, holding a +22 margin, followed by Fukushima-Matsumoto with +15.
Yifan-Shuxian, despite beating Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi 21-11, 21-18 earlier in the day, were eliminated after finishing third with an inferior points difference of +11.
And even though Pearly-Thinaah had beaten Yifan-Shuxian in their Group A opener, the Chinese pair remained a formidable threat.
As Group A winners, Pearly and Thinaah have already avoided a clash with Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning, who topped Group B, in the semi-finals.
However, they remain cautious as they could face South Korea’s Baek Ha-na-Lee Soo-hee, or meet Fukushima-Matsumoto again, in their bid for a spot in the final.
For Pearly-Thinaah, the priority was simply to finish the match without sustaining any injuries, as they were already feeling some fatigue after competing at the SEA Games in Thailand last week.
“I think for us, the main thing is to enjoy the match and stay healthy. It’s important to finish the game in good condition. There were moments when my legs weren’t feeling their best, but I just focused on making sure I could finish healthy,” added Pearly.
RESULTS
Men’s singles
Group B: Chou Tien-chen (Tpe) bt Li Shifeng (Chn) 14-21, 11-14, retired
Women’s singles
Group A: An Se-young (Kor) bt Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) 14-21, 21-5, 21-14; Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-17, 21-9.
Group B: Rani roads I Asked their Dhalai (C) 211-10.
Women’s doubles
Group A: The Rin Iwanashi (Jpn) 21-11, 21-8; There is no 21-15, 16-21, 16-21-21-21-21-21-21.
Group B: Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) Pei-shan-Hung En-tzu (Tpes 21-17, 21-19; The Chanshu-Tan (Chn) Kiong Hee-yong (Kor) 21-17, 21-1
Mixed doubles:
Group A: If Zakhnai-A Yakno (ii) has been a public in Pad-11, 21-11). The Ministers called Miswai called (Jam) 211-21,21-21
Group B: Fediz he’s Fonnifed knowledge of music (Spini) in Ealih 24-16; 26-28; Jaa, Bwrangiya-bhahi, Senter Strie (SF 27-17; JEMS.
