Pearly-Thinaah fall at final hurdle in Indonesia Masters

 

Pearly Tan-M Thinaah were the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to reach the Indonesia Masters final since 2011. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Pearly Tan-M Thinaah failed to capture the women’s doubles title at the Indonesia Masters after falling to South Korea’s Kim Hye Jeong-Kong Hee Yong in the final today.

The world No 7 pair were defeated 12-21, 21-17, 18-21 in a hard-fought match lasting 74 minutes at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta.

Pearly-Thinaah were also beaten by the 29th-ranked South Korean duo in last week’s India Open semi-finals.

While the South Korean pair showed excellent coordination and court coverage, the Malaysian Olympic semi-finalists appeared sluggish in the first game and were unable to break the tough defence put up by their opponents.

Although they regained their composure and put up a battling display in the second and third games, their opponents made fewer mistakes and defended better.

The South Koreans have a 2-0 record against the Malaysians following today’s final.

Pearly-Thinaah pocketed US$18,050 (RM79,251) as runners-up. - FMT