KUALA LUMPUR: Women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah were knocked out of the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, by a lower-ranked home pair in the quarter-finals today.
In a lethargic performance, Pearly-Thinaah, ranked world No 2, went down tamely to their Chinese rivals, Li Yi Jing-Luo Xu Min, ranked seven rungs below them, by a score of 13-21, 15-21 in 41 minutes.
Nothing seemed to go right for the Malaysians, who won the Indonesia Masters title, as their opponents put on a powerful display en route to their second victory in three encounters to date.
Malaysia’s only hope of a semi-final appearance now rests on world No 2 men’s doubles pair Aaron Chia–Soh Wooi Yik, who will face South Korea’s world No 22, Kang Min Hyuk-Ki Dong Ju, in the quarter-finals later tonight.
Malaysia’s top mixed doubles pair, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, were eliminated in the quarter-finals this morning.