KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — National number one women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah beat Liu Xuan Xuan-Xia Yu Ting of China in the opening round of the 2022 Malaysia Open here today.
Pearly-Thinaah survived a shaky start at Axiata Arena as they fought neck and neck with the Chinese pair before winning 22-20 in the opening game.
Pearly-Thinaah looked more comfortable in the next game as they powered their way to a 21-13 win to seal the match, extending their winning run to 2-0 since they first met in the Thailand Open last month.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Pearly, 22, admitted they were unhappy with their game today, especially in adapting to the court condition.
She said there is still a lot of room for improvement and hoped to return stronger in their quest to make the last eight when they square off against either seventh seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand or another Chinese pair, Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu, tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Syed Modi India International 2022 champions Anna Ching Yik Cheong-Teoh Mei Xing also made it to the next round following a convincing victory against Irish pair Kate Frost-Moya Ryan.
After posting a 21-12 win in the first game, it was a stroll in the park for the national pair in the next as they outplayed Kate-Moya 21-5.
A stern test awaits Anna-Mei Xing as they will be facing the second seeds from South Korea, Lee So Hee-Shin Seung Chan, who swept past Margot Lambert-Anne Tran of France 21-16, 21-8.
However, a beaming Mei Xing vowed to give their best, saying So Hee-Seung Chan would not have an easy ride.
Another Malaysian pair, Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sen, were beaten 21-18, 21-17 by Febby Valencia Dwijayanti Gani-Ribka Sugiarto from Indonesia. — Bernama
