Pearly-Thinaah stopped by top Japanese duo at China Open

 The world No 5 pair lost to third-ranked Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto in straight games in the quarter-final.

Pearly Tan-M Thinaah have struggled to find their rhythm since returning this month from a two-month lay-off due to Pearly’s injury. (EPA Images pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Pearly Tan-M Thinaah failed to reach the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the China Open, falling in two games to the top Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto.

The world No 5 pair, the only remaining Malaysian shuttlers in the elite RM2 million World Tour Super 1000 tournament, lost to the world No 3 pair 16-21, 16-21 in a 46-minute match at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou.

Both pairs have now won five times each in their 10 encounters so far.

The Malaysian duo have struggled to regain their form since returning this month from a two-month lay-off due to Pearly’s injury.

Their defeat follows the ouster of all other Malaysians in the second round yesterday, in one of Malaysia’s worst performances at the China Open.

Pearly-Thinaah have yet to win an elite Super 1000 title despite reaching the final twice. Their only title this year came at the Super 500 Indonesia Masters in January.

No Malaysian women’s doubles pair has ever won the China Open title in its 40-year history.

Pearly-Thinaah take home US$12,500 (RM51,137) as quarter-finallists. Their next outing is at the Taipei Open, beginning on Tuesday. - FMT