PETALING JAYA: National badminton coach Rosman Razak is positive that women’s doubles duo Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah is capable of overcoming the “Group of Death” at the World Tour Finals (WTF) in Hangzhou and reach the semi-finals.
Fourth seeded Pearly-Thinaah in Group A will be facing intense competition against world number one Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning of China, world number four Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida from Japan and number 13 Treesa Jolly-Gayathri Gopichand from India.
The world number six pair will begin competing on Wednesday against steady opponents Japan’s Matsuyama-Shida, which can make or break their fate in the competition, the New Straits Times reported.
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The unseeded Japanese pair hold a higher record of 10-1 against Pearly-Thinaah, since they won in the last eight tournaments.
Even with the hurdle present , Rosman has put his confidence that the Malaysians can secure a spot in the top two and reach the semi-finals.
“You can’t avoid any pair in a tournament featuring the world’s best.
“It is definitely not easy, but the target remains the semi-finals,” he was quoted as saying.
Pearly-Thinaah would secure a place in the semi-finals should they overcome Japan’s Matsuyama-Shida as the Malaysians are expected to beat India’s Treesa-Gayathri in their second playoff on Thursday.
The national shuttlers are set to conclude the group fixtures on Friday against China’s Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning on Friday.
