NATIONAL women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah saw their Hong Kong Open title defence end abruptly in the semi-finals today.
The Malaysian duo suffered a comprehensive 14-21, 11-21 defeat against China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
The match concluded in just 35 minutes as the Chinese pair proved too strong for the World Championships runners-up.
Pearly-Thinaah’s exit marked the end of Malaysia’s campaign in the tournament as they were the only national representatives to reach the semi-finals.
The Malaysian pair had won the women’s doubles title at last year’s Hong Kong Open by defeating China’s Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 21-14, 21-14 in the final. – Bernama