Pearly–Thinaah suffer stunning first-round exit as Malaysia endures difficult start at Japan Open
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s campaign at the Japan Open suffered an early setback after national women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah were knocked out in the opening round following a surprise three-game defeat to Taiwan’s Hsu Yin Hui and Lin Jhih Yun.
The fifth-ranked Malaysians, who entered the tournament as one of the favourites after finishing runners-up in last year’s edition, were beaten 21-17, 17-21, 17-21 in a closely contested 50-minute encounter at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The defeat marked the first time Pearly and Thinaah have lost to the Taiwanese pair, having won all three of their previous meetings.
The unexpected exit continues a challenging season for Malaysia’s top women’s doubles combination, who have struggled to reproduce the consistency that saw them emerge among the world’s elite.
Despite competing in nine BWF World Tour tournaments this year, Pearly and Thinaah have lifted only one title, with injuries and inconsistent performances disrupting their momentum throughout the campaign.
Pearly’s injury in April also forced the pair to miss several tournaments, making it difficult to rebuild rhythm ahead of one of the season’s key competitions.
The opening-game victory initially suggested the Malaysians were on course for a comfortable progression after taking control with a confident 21-17 win.
However, the Taiwanese duo gradually raised their intensity and capitalised on unforced errors to level the match before completing the comeback by taking the deciding game to seal one of the biggest upsets of the opening round.
Malaysia’s disappointing start extended beyond the women’s doubles as several national representatives were also eliminated on the tournament’s opening day.
In the men’s doubles, world No. 19 Wan Arif Wan Junaidi and Yap Roy King suffered a hard-fought defeat to American pair Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith despite entering the match with a favourable head-to-head record.
The Malaysians lost 24-26, 21-15, 18-21 after 62 minutes, allowing the lower-ranked American combination to register only their first victory over Wan Arif and Roy King after losing the previous three encounters.
The mixed doubles department also endured early disappointment.
World champion Chen Tang Jie, competing with Clarissa San for the first time following regular partner Toh Ee Wei’s anterior cruciate ligament injury, was unable to make a winning debut as the new partnership lost 15-21, 19-21 to Taiwan’s Yang Po Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang.
Another Malaysian mixed doubles pair, Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien, also exited in the first round after going down 13-21, 18-21 to China’s fifth-seeded combination Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui.
Malaysia’s challenge in the women’s singles ended equally early after Wong Ling Ching was outclassed by former world champion P.V. Sindhu of India.
Ling Ching struggled to contain the experienced Indian, eventually losing 14-21, 11-21 in just 35 minutes.
With several early eliminations recorded across multiple categories, Malaysian hopes at the Japan Open now rest on the remaining representatives still in contention as they seek to keep the national challenge alive in Tokyo.
