KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — The hopes of national women’s top doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah to advance into the semi-finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships 2024 went up in smoke when they were stopped by world number 11 Rena Miyaura-Ayako Sakuramoto of Japan today.
In the quarter-final clash at Utilita Arena in Birmingham, Tan-Thinaah, ranked 15th in the world, opened the game aggressively to beat Miyaura-Sakuramoto 21-11 in the first set.
However, they could not match the Japanese pair, who were the 2023 Switzerland Open champion and were subdued 18-21 and 18-21 in the following two sets.
This is their second defeat after the 2023 Japan Masters.
However, Tan-Thinaah can be proud in this outing for scalping the world’s number one pair Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan of China 22-20 and 21-16 in the second round yesterday, after losing in five previous encounters.
Miyaura-Sakuramoto will next face compatriots Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida, who are seeded sixth in the tournament in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Two more national representatives, men’s singles,Lee Zii Jia and men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will be in action early tomorrow morning.
— Bernama
