KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Malaysia’s top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah advanced to the third round of the 2026 World Badminton Championships in New Delhi after defeating Turkiye’s Bengisu Ercetin-Nazlican Inci today.

In the second-round match at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the fifth seeds, who received a first-round bye, needed just 34 minutes to secure a 21-16, 21-13 victory.

Pearly-Thinaah will face either Turkiye’s Yasemen Bektas-Sinem Yildiz or Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari in the third round.

Thinaah said the opportunity to train together more consistently over the past two weeks had helped them improve their game.

“Over the past two weeks, we have finally been able to train together more, so I think that is a very positive sign.

“In terms of movement, communication and the trust we have built, everything is moving in a positive direction. There are still some misunderstandings, but we are working to rectify them,” Thinaah said in an audio clip shared by the Badminton World Federation.

Meanwhile, national men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao was eliminated by eighth seed Li Shi Feng of China, losing 19-21, 19-21 in the second round.

K. Letshanaa suffered a similar fate in the women’s singles, losing 16-21, 9-21 to third seed Wang Zhi Yi of China.

Earlier, husband-and-wife pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie advanced to the last 16 after defeating the United States’ Chen Zhi Yi-Francesca Corbett 21-15, 21-16.

The 10th seeds will face eighth seeds Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi of China in the third round. — Bernama