We are really happy with today’s win and to create this history. We don’t want to stop here. We still want to keep moving forward,
Pearly Tan said after a dramatic quarter-final victory at the SJF Bank Arena. World No. 5 pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah fought back from a game down to defeat India’s Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand 14–21, 21–17, 21–11 in a 55-minute encounter on Friday, October 16, securing Malaysia’s first women’s doubles semi-final appearance at the tournament in 18 years, The Star reported.
Overcoming a Slow Start Against Jolly and Gopichand
The Malaysian pair nearly let victory slip away through an overly cautious start against their frequent rivals. Tan and Thinaah dropped the opening game before steadying themselves during a crucial on-court discussion while trailing 11–14 in the second game, according to New Straits Times. They admitted that playing too defensively caused a flurry of unforced errors early on. By choosing to let go of the score and focus on enjoying each rally, the second seeds shifted the momentum completely to dominate the deciding third game 21–11.
VICTOR Denmark Open 2026 [BWF World Tour Super 750]🗓️ 16 Oct 2026🛎️ QuarterfinalsGirl's Doubles🇲🇾 Pearly Tan / Thinaah Muralitharan [2] 🆚🇮🇳 Treesa Jolly / Gayatri Pullela14-2121-1721-11@PearlyTannn and @Thinaah98 reach their first-ever Denmark Open semifinals!Next… pic.twitter.com/1KBbiUAzvP
Friday’s encounter marked the eighth win in ten career meetings between the two pairs. Tan and Thinaah previously met Jolly and Gopichand in the quarter-finals of the Asian Games, where the Malaysian duo secured a bronze medal. To reach the last eight in Denmark, Tan and Thinaah defeated Taiwan’s Yeung Nga-ting and Yeung Pui-lam 21–12, 21–19 on Thursday.
Chasing History After an Eighteen-Year Wait
The quarter-final victory broke a long-standing drought for Malaysian women’s badminton. Not since Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty reached the semi-finals and ultimately won the title in 2008 had a Malaysian women’s doubles pair advanced this far at the Denmark Open. Tan admitted after the match that they were entirely unaware of the statistical milestone until after walking off the court.
We did not know we were the first after 18 years to reach the semis here,
Tan told the Badminton World Federation, emphasizing the need to keep their emotions under control as the tournament progresses. We are really happy to achieve this but we have to stay focused, plan for the next game and keep our emotion in check.
Facing Bao Lijing and Cao Zihan Next
Tan and Thinaah advance to meet China’s Bao Lijing and Cao Zihan in the semi-finals. The Chinese combination booked their spot in the final four by defeating Bulgaria’s Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva in straight games, 21–12, 26–24. Thinaah noted that proper rest and careful tactical preparation would dictate their approach against the young Chinese pair.
Every athlete wants to win the championship, but for us, it is about taking each point and each match at a time,
Thinaah said, as reported by New Straits Times. Keep discussing, keep enjoying the rallies and the game, and the results will show.
Mixed Fortunes Across the Malaysian Camp
The women’s doubles breakthrough capped a largely successful Friday for the wider Malaysian contingent in Odense, with three of the nation’s four quarter-finalists advancing. Men’s doubles world No. 4 Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik defeated Japan’s Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita 21–16, 21–18 to set up a semi-final clash against South Korea’s world No. 1 pair Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae.
In mixed doubles, Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing also moved forward after overcoming Japan’s Akira Koga and Natsu Saito 21–15, 24–22. They advance to face China’s world No. 1 duo Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping. The lone blemish for Malaysia on Friday came when world No. 6 men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani fell to China’s world No. 2 Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang 18–21, 21–18, 21–15.
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