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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M Thinaah hope to maintain their momentum in the Indonesian Open at the Malaysia Open to be held at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil from June 28 to July 3.
The world number 10 are scheduled to face world 22nd ranked pair Liu Xuan Xuan-Xia Yu Ting of China in the first round which will be their second meeting after a second-round clash at the Thai Open last month which was won by Pearly-Thinaah.
Pearly expects them to face stiff opposition from the Chinese pair but is still optimistic that they will be able to put on an excellent performance and is excited to be playing on home turf.
“I am looking forward to Malaysian fans being there (at Axiata Arena) and looking forward to the competition.
“The draw is tough because in the first round we will play a tough Chinese pair. I think they are quite a good pair.
“But for us, we just hope to keep the momentum going,” she said when met at Akademi Badminton Malaysia (ABM), Bukit Kiara today.
Pearly-Thinaah, who won the Swiss Open last year, advanced to the semi-finals of the Indonesian Masters at the Istora Senayan Stadium before exiting in the second round of the Indonesian Open, which also took place at the same venue last week.
Meanwhile, the 22-year-old said the announcement by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on the status of the Malaysia Open, which will be upgraded from Super 750 to 1000 in the World Tour, was further motivation for the national shuttlers to raise their game to a higher level.
“However, for me, all supers are the same because all good players also come to join (Super 500, 750 and 1000), not so different, just hope to focus in every match,” she said, admitting that although BWF prize money was now higher, the mission to bring glory for the country was her priority.
Meanwhile, men’s doubles player Aaron Chia said: “Indeed, when they upgrade to 1000, the players will be more enthusiastic to play. Furthermore, playing at home in one of the biggest tournaments injects confidence as well.”
On Sunday, BWF announced the upgrade of the status of the Malaysia Open from Super 750 to Super 1000 starting next year until 2026. – Bernama, June 22, 2022