In a grueling contest against South Korean opponents, Pearly-Thinaah sustains elimination at the China Masters tournament.
In an intense and thrilling match at the Shenzhen Arena, the Malaysian mixed doubles pair of Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei came up just short against China's world No. 1 pair Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dongping in the semi-finals of the World Championships.
The match kept the fans on tenterhooks, with the scoreline seeing multiple lead changes and close battles. The duo fought valiantly, but ultimately lost 21-23, 21-19, 20-22 in a match that lasted 87 minutes.
The Malaysian pair has had a successful season, making it to five finals, but were only able to secure victory at the Thailand Open in May. Despite their loss, they can take pride in their achievement of reaching the quarter-finals, earning them US$4,062 (RM17,021) in prize money.
Unfortunately, their Olympic semi-finalist teammates Pearly-Thinaah also squandered a three-match point lead in the rubber game, adding to the disappointment felt by Malaysian fans. The name of the losing Malaysian world champion pair is not publicly available in the provided data.
In a surprising twist, both the Malaysian and Korean teams were knocked out in the semi-finals at the Hong Kong Open last week.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's other representative in the tournament, the men's doubles pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, will be in action later tonight as they take on the Indonesians Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana. The pair lost in the semi-final of the World Championships two weeks ago and will be looking to bounce back in Shenzhen.
