KUALA LUMPUR — National women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan and M Thinaah made history today by becoming the first Malaysian pair to win the Super 500 Thailand Open in Bangkok.
The world No. 13 duo delivered a commanding performance in the final, defeating South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun and Lee Yeon-woo in straight games, 21-16, 21-15.
The win marks a significant comeback for Pearly-Thinaah, who suffered a first-round exit at their home tournament, the Malaysia Open, earlier this year.
“This win means a lot, to be honest. We haven’t had a very good start because we lost in the first round at our home ground,” said Thinaah after the medal ceremony, in a post-match interview with the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“But we never lost faith in each other. We kept supporting and pushing each other in training and tournaments. Step by step, we overcame a few things. There are still many things we need to improve,” she added.
On the court, the Malaysians’ determination was evident.
“We didn’t want the shuttle to hit the ground. We wanted to go all out and save every shot we could,” said Thinaah.
Pearly credited their strong communication and strategy as key to the victory.
“We told each other to believe, and Thinaah helped me a lot,” she said. “We discussed with our coach how to overcome our opponents, and that worked really well.”
Despite the historic win, the pair have little time to bask in their success.
TheyHistoric win comes just days before their homeground return for the Malaysia Masters are flying back to Kuala Lumpur tonight to prepare for their next assignment — the Malaysia Masters, another Super 500 tournament set to take place at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil, from May 20 to 25.
“We don’t have much time to celebrate,” Thinaah said. “We’ll return home, get a good rest, and prepare with our support staff and coaches, who have been with us throughout the week.” — May 18, 2025