100 Malaysians, 100 Milestones – LSA100 this year highlights the exciting journey of Thinaah Muralitharan, one half of Malaysia’s top badminton women’s double pair, who with her partner Pearly Tan, have captured the hearts of fans all over the world with their exceptional game play and historic wins.
It was just after lunchtime at the Lifestyle Asia office, with its occupants sparse and the few of us crouched over a desk, and on the computer screen Thinaah Muralitharan and Pearly Tan were working up a sweat in the semi-finals of the badminton women’s doubles on the court in Paris. A rollercoaster of emotions was felt but we remained quiet. Every time the opposing team — Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China, who’d brought home the silver at Tokyo 2020 — scored a point, it felt like a punch in the gut. It was impossible to predict where the match would go. This was Thinaah and Pearly’s debut at an Olympic Games, and they’d soared right to the semi-finals. And this was the first time ever that we were seeing it happen.
But as Thinaah is recounting this story to me, about the game that created history, I realise it’s a completely different feeling when you’re the one playing on the court. We are sitting outside the studio’s café, killing time before she gets in front of the camera for our annual LSA100 cover shoot. She’s dressed casually, her hair worn down — different from what we’ve seen of her on the court — and her smile is relaxed. The pure excitement of just being at the Olympic Games for the first time had overruled everything else, she says. She and Pearly had texted each other throughout the Games, worrying about the initial group stage draws. But as they continued to advance further in the competition, their excitement only grew bigger.
“We were just gonna go and play our best, have no regrets,” she tells me. “That was the main thing. But once we got out of that [first] group, it was like the first ‘mission complete’ for us, something we took positively. And we were more relaxed and more excited to be on the court the next day. Then we got to the quarter-finals, so we were seeing the other players; another hurdle to get through, right? But we were like, ‘It’s okay. Let’s just enjoy the fact that we’ve made it this far.’ And when we won that too, it’s like, we could say it was another dream come true for the both of us. We’d made it. From then on we were like, ‘Okay, now every match, every point we get, we’ll just take it as a bonus.”
The blow from the semi-finals results was fierce but fleeting. Thinaah isn’t one to dwell on her disappointment. “Yeah, we were upset,” she muses, “but after that, we just wanted to not punish ourselves too much, to not blame ourselves too much. Because we made it that far.”
Watching a doubles game is always interesting. There’s a seamless flow that happens between the teammates, an unspoken language on the court that they must both understand. They play off of each other’s strengths, keep one another afloat. Trust and communication are extremely important. I’d read somewhere that the latter had never been a problem for ‘PearThin’ — they both speak English, Malay and Chinese — and there was no question about the former; they’ve been best friends since high school. But the pressures of representing the country at the Olympic Games weighed heavily on them before the flight to Paris.
“We sacrificed a lot actually before the Olympics, like not going home much,” Thinaah shares. “And then we also had misunderstandings during training sessions and everything. So, there were a lot of negative feelings back then. But once we entered the Olympic Village, we became one. Our mindset, our goal was the same.”
What is your biggest takeaway from being in the big competition?
I think it’s something that I can’t forget lah, that experience. Because it was our first Olympics, right? And once we entered the Olympic Village, it was a whole different feeling because we got to meet all these world-class athletes with us together. I think that was one of the highlights for me, because these athletes are the ones we would watch on TV. And, like, now we’re going for lunch and dinner together, in the same place. So I think that was a very different experience and something that we can never forget. But other than that, I think just being there as an athlete, like, as an equal to all of them, was really something very special.
Among those athletes, would you say these are some of the sports idols you looked up to as well? Who were some of the athletes that you admired growing up, and how have they influenced you?
I’ve seen many athletes, like Rafael Nadal. And recently also, I met Simone Biles also at the Village. I think those are really very inspiring athletes for me. ‘Cause their attitude and their fighting spirit, it’s on another level. Growing up and watching them on TV, that was something that I would want to do for myself growing up as well, as an athlete. So that I also can inspire younger generations. Hopefully, we can do that as well.
What would you say were some of the personal challenges that you went through?
I think especially before the Olympics, there was a lot of pressure, a lot of burden on the both of us. I mean, we definitely wanted to do well, but the pressure was really catching up to us because we knew that we needed to do our best. We were scared that we couldn’t give our best during the Olympics. Because it’s a once-in-four-years tournament, right? So we really went all out.
We put all of our differences aside, and we just wanted to enjoy every moment that we had at the Olympics. So, that was really good. We really communicated a lot. And I think our bond became stronger as well, so that really helped us on and also off the court. I’m glad that we found a solution for everything. We really worked together as one, as a pair going through the Olympics. So, I think those memories will always be there.
How did you overcome it together? Especially because like you said, you had to focus on the same goal.
Yeah, I think because our main goal was to win a medal, that’s for sure. So every problem, every misunderstanding we had, our main reason to solve it [is] because of the main goal that we had after that. So, if we don’t solve it, then what’s the point of playing together? Stuff like that was what came to mind. So, we really talked a lot during the games, and maybe we also gave each other some space before talking. But once we talked we really found every solution. That’s when we really synced.
And what about after the Olympics? After it was all over, I mean.
I think after the Olympics, a lot of the burden was thrown off our shoulders already. And to be honest, our relationship or partnership was closer than before. Like, nowadays, whenever we go for tournaments, we just wanna enjoy it because we already know that the pressure is off our shoulders. So our main thing is to just enjoy every point that we have on court. Even though we lose or win the point, we keep encouraging and keep supporting each other. And we keep communicating a lot on and off the court as well. Our off-court bonding is also so much better than before. It’s a good feeling for the both of us. We hope that we can continue this feeling for many years. I think this is really important for the both of us not just as a partnership, but also because she’s my best friend. So, I think it’s going good so far. (laughs)
What is your greatest strength as a badminton player or as an athlete?
I think I’m a very, very open person. And I can say I’m quite a calm person as well. Yeah, I would be pressured but, like, I don’t really wanna show it too much. And I’m a very happy-go-lucky type. So it’s, like, just go with the flow, I just wanna enjoy each moment. I don’t wanna stress out about this and that. I used to stress out a lot, but then I thought, like, ‘What’s the point of stressing out about those kinds of things? Just go with the flow, enjoy what you do. Because things you do are the things you love, so why get stressed out about that?’ That’s my main mantra for myself going forward.
Would you say for Pearly, it’s the same? Or is it a little different for her?
She is a bit more… her fighting spirit is really high. She really wants to win these things, right? So, she’s a bit more, like, eager and a bit more emotional in that sense when she doesn’t get what she needs. It’s also good, because in that moment I can help to calm her down a little bit so that we are on the same path. ‘Cause I also understand that frustration, you really wanna get the points that fast. But now she’s getting much better, and so am I. We can see if one of us is more eager to ‘kill’ than anything, we’ll just calm each other down and support. That really helped us to be one, and to be more balanced.
And what do you believe to be one of your weaknesses?
You can say maybe sometimes it’s my… that eagerness, that willpower is not as high as Pearly’s. Sometimes when it’s tough, I’m like, “Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay.” But you know, at some point you need to have that really high willpower, that high fighting spirit. So I’m also improving on that part. Basically more on mentality. How do I focus more, and how do I remind myself of these things? Because playing at this level, most of these things are mental instead of physical. Previously a lot of seniors I’ve talked to, they kept telling [me] to prepare a lot mentally. But at that time I didn’t really understand, like, what do you mean by ‘mentally’? I’m already focused, right? But once I reached the Olympic stage, and I’ve played at a high-level tournament, it’s like just that small percent while playing makes a difference. It can even be just a pat on the back, or just a small supportive speech, or something, that makes a big difference. That’s the part of the mentality that we are working on as well. Now that we are playing in these high-level tournaments, we keep reminding each other about this.
How do you bounce back from a setback or what you feel is a ‘poor’ performance?
I would take a break. A short break. Maybe a two or three days’ break, to just refresh my memory and refresh the whole body. Maybe spend time with friends or go out with family, just don’t think about badminton for a while. Then once I come back, it’s a different feeling. It’s like I forgot about the past and I’m ready to start something new.
Because you’ve been playing at high-level tournaments now, how has your training regimen evolved from when you first started to now? Especially how you prepare yourself.
I think I know my body a little bit more now, like, I understand more. I’m taking things easier than last time. Like I said before, a lot of pressure has been taken off of our shoulders so the approach towards training and stuff is more relaxed. I’m enjoying it more than I did before. It’s like, I’m excited to go back to train and stuff. It’s not like, ‘Oh no, I have training.’ So, it’s a different feeling after everything that happened. Now it’s even clearer on what I should improve on and what we should do. So, I think that is a positive lah.
How has your family taken your badminton career so far? Especially compared to when you first started, and now that we’ve all seen you in the Olympic stadium?
So, I started badminton at the age of six. My elder brother started training first. I used to be really close to him, so whenever he wasn’t around, I really wanted to follow him to training. And then I had my younger sister follow me for training. So, it’s like a family thing lah. Then I went to a sports school when I was 13 with my sister, but she stopped because she’s more of the studious type. And my brother also stopped quite some time ago, he’s an engineer now. So, I’m the only one in the badminton field. (laughs) My family background is quite studious, ‘cause my mom is a doctor, and my dad’s an engineer. I’m the ‘odd’ one in the family. In the beginning I felt a bit pressured, because I was scared people would say, “Eh, how come you’re not studying, you’re just playing?” and stuff like that. So I wanted to prove a point, you know, that even though I wasn’t doing a full-time study or something, sports could bring me somewhere as well.
And it did!
Yeah, thank God, right? (laughs) It paid off. My parents were already supportive from the beginning. They’re not like, “Oh you have to study.” It wasn’t like that. They really supported me in my sports career. And I think the support and love that they gave really helped me throughout the years.
Your family was in Paris with you, too, right?
Yeah! Actually I planned for them to go earlier, but then they said, “No, no.” And then it was one month before the game and they were like, “You know what? We want to go.” (laughs) And I was like, “Now?” ‘Cause everything’s, like, so expensive, right? So I was like, “You know what? It’s okay, I’ll pay for everything.” And I paid for them to go.
Just to wrap up, what are you preparing for next?
For now, we still have a few more games for this year, and the main one is in December. So, that’s our main focus for now. But for the long run, I think just to make sure that we are injury-free, that’s one. And also to just keep reminding each other the importance of enjoying the match. Just being there for each other and just helping out, supporting each other. I think this is really important for our game to reach the next level.
