KUALA LUMPUR – While Malaysians bask in the success of Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah as they made history by becoming the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to reach the Olympic semi-finals, it is important to recognise the sacrifices and struggles they endured to get to this point.
From battling injuries to a loss of confidence and a dip in form, the world number 12 pair faced a true test of will to peak at the right time.
When contacted by Scoop, Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM) coaching director Rexy Mainaky revealed that it has been a challenging two years for Pearly and Thinaah, especially since they won the French Open title.
In fact, the Indonesian former world and Olympic champion noted the importance of having a dedicated programme, like the Road to Gold (RTG), to identify and help boost the ability and potential of top athletes in the country.
“It has been a very long, tough, and painful journey for Pearly and Thinaah. I cannot thank God enough for how far they have come.
“Since they won the French Open title two years ago, they have struggled with injuries, performance, and even confidence.
“They could not have picked a better time to peak than at the Paris Olympics,” Rexy said.
Earlier today, Pearly and Thinaah smashed their way into the final four in Paris after upsetting world number 10 and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea 21-12, 21-13 in front of a packed Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
The Malaysians will next take on world number one pair Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan of China in the semi-finals tomorrow at 2:30pm Malaysian time.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played a role in Pearly and Thinaah’s success. To the women’s doubles coach Hoon Thien How, the sparring partners from Indonesia, and all the support personnel from ABM.
“Then we have the support service staff from the National Sports Council, the National Sports Institute, the physical trainers, as well as people like Frederick Tan (psychologist), who worked really hard to prepare the players for Paris.
“And lastly, I must say that if not for the RTG programme, it would have been very difficult to prepare our players the way we did. RTG’s support really goes a long way, they made this happen.
“We trusted the process and slowly got Pearly and Thinaah back to their best. They regained their confidence.
“The fight is not yet over for them. Hopefully, they will continue to focus as we look ahead to the next task, which is the semi-finals,” added Rexy.
Two other national pairs, former men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, and mixed doubles duo Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, also cleared their respective group stages to reach the quarter-finals.
However, debutants Tang Jie and Ee Wei fell short in the last eight, losing in straight games 21-19, 21-14 to South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun. – August 1, 2024