KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — National women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, still riding high after winning gold at the SEA Games Thailand 2025, got their Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals Group A campaign off to a smashing start by defeating world number four Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian of China in Hangzhou, China, today.

The world number two Tan-Thinaah delivered an impressive performance to overcome the Chinese pair 21-17, 21-11 in just 46 minutes.

Tan-Thinaah, however, still trail Yi Fan-Shu Xian 2-5 in head-to-head count.

Thinaah, though, was just elated with the win, saying they have been working hard to prepare for the World Tour Finals.

“We just wanted to make sure we have no regrets on court... communicate well whenever things don’t go well, just talk it out and then have each other’s back. I think that’s what really helped us,” said Thinaah in a BWF recording that was shared with media today. 

The top-seeded Tan-Thinaah face world number six Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi of Japan tomorrow, aiming for an early semi-final berth, before closing their Group A campaign against another Japanese pair — Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto.

Meanwhile, in mixed doubles, an all-Malaysian Group B clash ended with Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei defeating Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie 21-13, 21-13 in 41 minutes.

World champions Tang Jie-Ee Wei will take on Indonesia’s Jafar Hidyatullah-Felisha Alberta Nathaniel Pasaribu before facing the world’s top-ranked pair of Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping of China in their final group match.

Goh-Lai must beat Feng-Huang tomorrow to stay in the hunt for a place in the last four. — Bernama