Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah End Malaysia's 18-Year Wait for a Denmark Open Women's Doubles Semi-Final
Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah beat India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand 14-21, 21-17, 21-11 to become Malaysia's first women's doubles semi-finalists at the Denmark Open since 2008.
Malaysia's second-seeded women's doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah came from a game behind to reach the semi-finals of the Denmark Open in Odense. The world No. 5 duo dropped the opener against India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand but took control from there, winning 14-21, 21-17, 21-11 in 55 minutes in Friday's (Oct 16) quarter-final. It was their eighth win in ten meetings with the Indian pair, whom they also beat in the Asian Games quarter-finals on the way to bronze.
The result makes Pearly and Thinaah the first Malaysian women's doubles pair in 18 years to reach the last four in Denmark, matching what Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty did in 2008, when that pair went on to lift the title. Pearly told the Badminton World Federation the pair hadn't known about the milestone and said they were delighted, but needed to stay focused, plan for the next match and keep their emotions in check.
Next up is China's Bao Lijing and Cao Zihan, who beat Bulgaria's Stoeva sisters 21-12, 26-24. Pearly and Thinaah are the third Malaysian pair into the semi-finals in Odense, joining men's doubles pair Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik and mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing.
Source: The Star