Emotional Thinaah rues missed final as Pearly finds her smile again
Malaysian badminton players Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah won a bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, ending a 12-year wait for a women's doubles medal. Despite disappointment over missing the final, they expressed gratitude for support and relief at finding their form again after Pearly's injuries.
Why it matters
This achievement marks a significant milestone for Malaysian badminton, breaking a long drought for a women's doubles medal at the Asian Games and offering a morale boost for the athletes.
SHUTTLERS Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah may have won bronze at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but there was still disappointment after they fell just short of reaching the final.
Their run ended with a 21-16, 20-22, 12-21 defeat to China’s Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning in the semi-finals at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi yesterday.
Pearly-Thinaah were visibly emotional during the post-match interview but said they had given everything they could against the Chinese pair.
“First of all, I want to thank everyone for supporting us all the time,” said Thinaah in a post-match interview with Hotspot Malaysia.
“Even though we didn’t perform well, we are still slowly finding our own playing style, our strategy, our game and our communication.
“For those who have been supporting us from day one, I am really grateful and hopefully you guys keep supporting us in the future.”
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