NATIONAL top women’s pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah clinched a crucial win over Indonesia’s Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti to charge into the Paris Olympics quarterfinals today. 

The world No. 13-ranked Malaysians packed their rivals off 21-18, 21-9 in the 45-minute Group A match at the Porte De La Chapelle Arena in Paris.

Following the win, Tan and Thinaah finished second in the group behind China’s world number one pair Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan. 

A relieved Thinaah said the win was a huge weight lifted off the pair’s shoulders. 

With the victory, the world No. 13 pair overtook Japan’s two-time former world champion Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara in the toughest group in the competition. 

The Japanese duo earlier lost 16-21, 15-21 to China’s world No. 1 Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan. 

Thinaah admitted that she and Pearly had never encountered a match as tense as this one. 

“As we knew the result from the earlier match, bringing this level of pressure to the court was a whole different feeling from what we’ve encountered,” added Thinaah. 

“It gave us a new feeling and a whole new experience for both of us.” 

Pearly thanked Thinaah for helping her stay composed throughout the match. 

Pearly-Thinaah are only the second Malaysian women’s doubles pair to make it into the last eight in the Olympics since Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. 

They will now take on one of the group winners in the quarterfinals after a fresh draw is conducted after all the group matches are completed. – July 30, 2024.