KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Newly-crowned Swiss Open champions Pearly Tan-M Thinaah’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the 2021 All England Badminton Championships were dashed when they went down fighting to Japan’s Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida in the last eight yesterday.
But all credit to Pearly-Thinaah for putting up a commendable performance before losing 12-21, 22-20, 16-21 to the Japanese pair in a one-hour battle at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
After losing the first game, the rising national women’s doubles pair of Pearly-Thinaah stepped up a gear as they fought neck-and-neck to drag the match into a rubber game.
However, the unseeded pair, who are making their All England debut, failed to get their game going this time and succumbed to the fifth seeds.
Nami-Chiharu will now take on compatriots Mayu Matsutomo-Wakana Nagahara today for a place in the final on Sunday.
Earlier, Malaysia’s top men’s singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia upset world number one Kento Momota of Japan to qualify for the semi-finals of the world’s oldest badminton tournament.
Zii Jia beat the top seed Momota 21-16, 21-19 in 55 minutes in the quarter-finals to set up a semi-final date with Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands today.
Malaysia’s remaining challenge will hinge on two mixed doubles pairs, with Rio 2016 Olympics silver medallists Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying locking horns against Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue of France and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing taking on Japan’s Yuta Watanebe-Arisa Higashino later today.
— Bernama
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