AICHI, Sept 28 — National women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah had to settle for bronze after losing to world number one Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China in the semi-finals of the women’s doubles badminton competition at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games here today.
The defeat ended the Malaysian pair’s hopes of reaching the final, leaving them with a bronze medal.
Malaysia had never reached the women’s doubles final since badminton was introduced at the Asian Games in 1962, with the country’s best previous achievement being three bronze medals.
Those medals were won by Tan Gaik Bee-Ng Mei Ling in Jakarta in 1962, Rosalind Singha Ang-Teoh Siew Yong in Bangkok in 1970 and Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei in Incheon in 2014.
World number five Pearly-Thinaah gave the top-ranked Chinese pair a tough challenge, taking the first game 21-16 before losing the second 20-22.
The Malaysian pair, however, lost momentum in the deciding game and went down 12-21 after 85 minutes.
The meeting also saw Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning extend their head-to-head dominance, with the Chinese pair now having recorded 11 wins from 14 meetings against Pearly-Thinaah, while the Malaysians have won three times.
“So close but still so far. We were not calm enough on the crucial points, while they, although younger, were very mature, and that is something we need to learn from them.
“We really need to learn from this mistake and keep reminding each other to stay calm during the crucial points. That is a big lesson for us,” Pearly told reporters after the match.
Thinaah said they would still take many positives from the match, while acknowledging that there was plenty to improve on ahead of their next tournament.
“As Pearly said, they played well on the crucial points and we were not calm enough. But there are many positives that we can take from this match, and we also need to learn from our opponents.
“We will review this match and then come back stronger,” she said.
