KUALA LUMPUR – National women’s doubles pair, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah emphatically made their way into the next round of the Badminton World Championships, by beating Scotland’s Julie Macpherson and Ciara Torrance in the second round at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, last night.
The world number 10 pair won the match 21-15, 21-10 in straight sets.
“We are delighted with our first-ever win in Copenhagen, and we would like to congratulate our opponents for giving us a good game,” Thinaah said.
“We believe that we still need to improve on our momentum and work on it with our coaches before tomorrow’s game,” Pearly added.
Meanwhile, the men’s doubles game witnessed an exhilarating affair as Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi were made to slog in the early going, before defeating Thailand’s Termthanasak and Thongsa Nga 21-16, 18-21, 21-12 in their second round match.
“We have given our best in this round, and we are mentally and physically prepared to give our all in the next round,” said Yew Sin.
At the same time, Malaysia’s mixed doubles pair, Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, maintained their smashing form to make it to the next round after beating Hong Kong’s Chun Hei Reginald and Ng Tsz Yau, 21-19, 21-9 in straight sets.
However, earlier in the day, national mixed doubles pair, Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing, were eliminated from the tournament as they were defeated by Thailand’s world number 21 pair, Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran, in their second round match.
The Thai pair easily cruised past the Malaysians, winning the game 21-15, 21-18 in just 37 minutes.
Disappointed with the defeat, Kian Meng said that his lack of training contributed to the loss.
“I need to take the blame for this defeat as I didn’t prepare well for this game. As a pair, we were a bit slow with our movement, as I couldn’t keep up with the speed. As a male player, I should have been moving more than my partner.
“We are disappointed, but we will try to do better in our upcoming championships,” said Kian Meng.
Elsewhere, national women’s doubles pair, Anna Ching Yik Cheong and Teoh Mei Xing, lost to Thailand’s world number 8 pair, Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.
The Malaysian pair, gold medalists in last year’s Syed Modi International Championship in India, were defeated 21-13, 21-11 in straight sets. – August 24, 2023