KUALA LUMPUR – Pearly Tan is gearing up for the upcoming year with a “no holds barred” approach, placing a primary focus on maintaining her physical well-being.
The top national women’s doubles shuttler recognises the critical importance of staying injury-free as she and her partner, M. Thinaah, aim to secure a coveted spot for their debut appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Reflecting on the challenges of the past year, the 23-year-old athlete openly acknowledged that setbacks, including injuries and illnesses, have taken a toll on her performance.
Despite a less-than-ideal year, Pearly remains resilient and optimistic about the future.
“This was not a good year for me due to injuries and illness. What’s more, I just recovered from Covid-19 last Wednesday, but I am happy to have overcome it.
“I have fully recovered and am now focusing more on prevention, as well as hoping to become stronger,” she told reporters after a training session at Akademi Badminton Malaysia today.
In October, Pearly faced a setback when she suffered a back injury following her and Thinaah’s exit from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
They lost in a closely contested quarter-final match against eventual silver medallists Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee of South Korea, 21-15, 11-21, 7-21.
The current world number 12 pair then withdrew from three European tournaments – the Arctic Open in Finland, the Denmark Open and the French Open.
Despite making a comeback in the Masters Japan last month, the 2022 French Open champions bowed out in the quarter-finals after losing 13-21, 18-21 to home pair Rena Miyaura-Ayako Sakuramoto.
Pearly-Thinaah ended their season trophyless following an 11-21, 21-15, 20-22 loss to South Korea’s Jeong Na Eun-Kim Hye Jeong in the opening round of the China Masters.
The Malaysian pair’s best achievement this year was finishing as runners-up twice – going down 20-22, 21-8, 17-21 to Ha Na-So Hee in the Malaysia Masters final in May and 21-14, 22-24, 9-21 to Indonesia’s Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti in the Hong Kong Open in September.
However, Pearly hopes to start 2024 on a winning note and stressed that she and Thinaah will be banking on the right strategy to maintain their clean record against China’s up-and-coming duo of Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning when they lock horns in the first round of the Malaysia Open at the Axiata Arena from January 9 to 14.
Pearly-Thinaah hold a slight advantage heading into the Malaysia Open, with two wins over the current world number eight Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, so far.
The Malaysians defeated them 21-17, 12-21, 21-19 in their first meeting at the Badminton Mixed Asia Team Championships 2023 in Dubai in February and 21-11, 9-21, 21-19 at the Japan Open 2023 in August.
Meanwhile, national men’s doubles shuttler Man Wei Chong said he and his partner, Tee Kai Wun are working hard to strengthen their mental resilience ahead of the first-round tie against world number one Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang of China in the Malaysia Open 2024.
Asked about their target next year, Wei Chong hopes they will break into the world’s top-10 ranking.
Wei-Chong-Kai Wun are currently in the 19th spot, their highest ranking so far. – December 26, 2023