Pearly-Thinaah Fall At Semi-final Stage Of World Tour Finals 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan–M. Thinaah saw their World Tour Finals 2025 campaign come to an end after bowing out at the semi-final stage following a 61-minute battle in Hangzhou, China today.
The SEA Games Thailand 2025 gold medallists went down 19-21, 13-21 to Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima–Mayu Matsumoto, marking a second successive defeat to the same opponents after also losing to them in the Group A final match, yesterday.
Despite the disappointment, Thinaah said they had put in strong effort and intensity but admitted their defensive play fell short against the Japanese duo.
“I think for now we just want to discuss again on today’s game with coaches and then rest well.
“We might take one or two days off first before we start back our training for the Malaysia Open because it’s not far off. So we want to take all this as a lesson and also move on and become stronger,” she said.
Pearly echoed the same sentiments acknowledging that their defensive consistency remains an area requiring further improvement through continued training.
Nevertheless, she expressed heartfelt appreciation to the fans who have stood firmly behind them throughout the season, sharing what she described as a “rollercoaster ride” by celebrating victories and enduring defeats together over the course of the year.
Meanwhile, Fukushima-Matsumoto will face either South Korea’s Baek Ha Na–Lee So Hee or China’s Liu Sheng Shu–Tan Ning in the final.
Following in the same footsteps were Malaysia’s top mixed doubles pair, Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, whose impressive run at the World Tour Finals 2025 in Hangzhou, China also came to an end at the semi-final stage today as their dream of reaching the final was halted by home pair, Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.
The Malaysian duo nailed the first game 21-9 but Zhen Bang–Ya Xin fought back to take the second 21-11, forcing a thrilling decider and they lost 17-21 in the final game.
Ee Wei said this is the last tournament of the year and expressed satisfaction with their overall performance, noting that although they began the year with modest results, they remained committed to each other and worked diligently in training every day.
“For this last tournament, I think we did a great job also, but we need to learn from our opponents on how to handle the situation when it comes to the crucial points.
“That’s what we will go through as an athlete, we will do our best for the upcoming tournament,” she said through a BWF audio recording.
Meanwhile, Tang Jie said he is very much looking forward to the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan as it only takes place once every four years, making it every athlete’s dream to achieve success at the tournament.
— BERNAMA
