KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — National women's doubles pair, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah, displayed a power game to defeat Indonesian pair Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi in straight sets 21-14, 21-14 in 34 minutes in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Malaysia Masters today.
Even though they were initially rattled by their opponents, ranked ninth in the world, Tan-Thinaah quickly changed their strategy with a more aggressive game to secure a ticket to the semi-finals at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
"As I have already said before, even though we won that day, everything still starts from zero, and the feeling of being a champion is already over. We are starting from zero and (will) take one step at a time, and we hope to give our best for tomorrow's match," Tan told the press.
Today's win is the fifth time the country's pair have beaten Febriana-Amallia in six meetings, favouring the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalists.
Next, a more arduous challenge awaits Tan-Thinaah when they face seventh seeds, Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian of China, who beat Lanny Tria Mayasari-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti from Indonesia 21-15, 15-21, 21-14.
The record between the two pairs is now level at 1-1, with Tan-Thinaah once beating them at the 2025 Indian Open when the Chinese pair pulled out while leading 14-4.
"We want to stay firm on our gameplay and discuss it with the coach and tomorrow we will discuss more on the court. See how we play and be more confident," Tan said.
If they successfully advance to the final stage, the duo have the opportunity to add to their collection a second title this season, just six days after winning the championship at the 2025 Thailand Open on May 18.
They advanced to the final of the 2023 edition of the Malaysian Masters but were blocked by South Korean pair Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee in 20-22, 21-8 and 17-21.
— Bernama
