KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has congratulated Malaysian shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah for winning the women’s doubles title at the French Open badminton tournament last night.

In a post on his official Facebook, he said that Pearly-Thinaah’s success ended a women’s doubles title drought and made Malaysia famous on the world stage.

Ismail Sabri said their success proved that sports is able to make Malaysia famous on the world stage and also unite races.

"It can also boost team spirit which is the foundation of Keluarga Malaysia (the Malaysian Family). Congratulations! Malaysia Boleh (Malaysia Can),” he said.

In the final at Stade Pierre de Coubertine, Paris, Pearly-Thinaah upset fourth seeds and two-time world champions Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara from Japan 21-19, 18-21, 21-15.

It was their second championship title and the biggest success of the world number 11 pair in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour series after winning the Swiss Open in March last year.

The closest a Malaysian women’s doubles pair got to the French Open title was in 2008 when Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui emerged as runners-up. — Bernama