KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah have added depth to their game with the ability to play long rallies and are now a threat to the world’s best pairs, said former Commonwealth Games champion Woon Khe Wei.
She said the top national pair had shown marked improvements in recent Badminton World Federation (BWF) open tournaments.
Khe Wei felt that if the pair kept up the momentum, they could be contenders for gold at the. Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah won the French Open 2022.
However, she advised Pearly to toughen up herself physically as the 23-year-old player was prone to suffering injuries due to her style of play.
“I think they are doing quite well, and I like the way they play. Thinaah has improved a lot in terms of defence. They are more solid now and can easily get points.
“During the Malaysia Open, almost every game they played was one and a half hours or so. Since Pearly is skinny, she may need more time to recover,” she told reporters recently.
Khe Wei, who won the Commonwealth Games title with Vivian Hoo in 2014, said it was normal for players to go through a long process of recovery after playing energy-sapping matches in tournaments.
Pearly-Thinaah, ranked world number 12, had to slog for a total of five hours and 54 minutes in four straight matches at the Malaysia Masters 2023 last month.
They lost 20-22, 21-8, 17-21 to South Korea’s world number two Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee in the final.
They had to skip the Indonesia Open from June 13-18 after Pearly suffered an elbow injury and were forced to withdraw in the first round of the Singapore Open early this month. — Bernama
