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KUALA LUMPUR: Stars in the making, badminton women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M Thinaah clinched the 2021 Swiss Open title today.
At 30th place, the duo surprised world No. 14 and third-seeded Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria 21-19, 21-12 in their first World Tour final at St Jakobshalle, Basel.
The unseeded Malaysians enjoyed a solid start, thanks to their aggressive attacking play, and built up an eight-point lead (11-3) in the first game before the Bulgarian sisters closed the gap. But Pearly and Thinaah held on to win.
In the second game, Pearly and Thinaah picked up where they left off to claim their first major title and become the first Malaysian women to win the tournament’s women’s crown.
Malaysia last enjoyed victory at the Swiss Open when men’s singles ace Lee Chong Wei and men’s doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong triumphed in 2009.
Pearly, 20, and Thinaah, 23, advanced to the final after yesterday beating compatriots and seniors Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean 10-21, 21-14, 21-16 in the semifinals.
Pearly and Thinaah had also won the Bangladesh International Challenge and India International Challenge titles in 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
They have shown good progress, having advanced to the quarter-finals of both the Yonex Thailand Open and the Toyota Thailand Open in January. They even surprised World No. 9 Chang Ye Na-Kim Hye Rin of South Korea at the Toyota Thailand Open.
Meanwhile, Lee Zii Jia (men’s singles), Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles) and Aaron Chia-Soh Woi Yik (men’s doubles) crashed in the semifinals of the Swiss Open.
