Pearly-Thinaah End 18-Year Drought With Denmark Open Title
National women’s doubles aces Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah secured the 2026 Denmark Open title on Sunday, defeating Japan’s Hinata Suzuki and Nao Yamakita 21-18, 21-11 in the final at the SJF Bank Arena in Odense, snesports.co reported. The victory ended an 18-year wait for a Malaysian women’s doubles champion at the tournament and earned the pair US$66,500, according to freemalaysiatoday.com.
The world No. 5 pair completed the final in 36 minutes, becoming only the second Malaysian women’s doubles pair to capture the crown in the 90-year history of the championships. Malaysia’s previous triumph in the event came via Wong Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui in 2008.
Early Deficit Overcome in Straight Games
Coached by Rosman Razak, the second-seeded Malaysians faced a difficult start in the opening game as they fell behind 3-8 against the 21st-ranked Japanese duo. Pearly and Thinaah responded by stringing together seven consecutive points to seize a 10-8 lead. Although Suzuki and Yamakita kept the pressure high, the world No. 5 pair closed out the opening game 21-18.
#NSTsports Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah continued their pursuit of a strong finish to the season after advancing to the Denmark Open women's doubles quarter-finals in Odense on Thursday.https://t.co/Rf5iWrSL6D pic.twitter.com/CWDp9MQ2X4
The second game proved more straightforward. Controlling the pace of the rallies from the outset, Pearly and Thinaah pulled away to win 21-11 and seal the World Tour Super 750 title.
Chasing World Tour Finals Qualification
The victory marks the second BWF World Tour title of the season for the pair, following their win at the Indonesia Masters in January. therakyatpost.com noted that their previous title in January came via a final-round walkover after their opponents withdrew, making the Odense triumph their first match-point-secured tournament victory of the year on the court.
The championship strengthens Pearly and Thinaah’s standing on the qualifying leaderboard for the World Tour Finals in December, where only the top eight pairs qualify. They currently occupy the sixth spot and are projected to climb when the revised rankings are published on Tuesday.
Historic Weekend for Malaysian Badminton
Pearly and Thinaah’s success capped a banner weekend for Malaysian badminton across senior and international junior divisions. A day prior, the junior pairing of Low Zi Yu and Genevie Lim captured gold at the BWF World Junior Championships in Cairo, Egypt, defeating Japan’s Nijika Kamata and Shizuku Kashio 15-7, 9-15, 15-12 at the Cairo International Stadium. That junior victory ended a 34-year wait for the nation’s first girls’ doubles title at the tournament since its inception in 1992.
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