KUALA LUMPUR: Top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan and M Thinaah produced a sizzling display to march into the French Open quarterfinals with a straights-game victory over formidable Indonesian pair Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi.
The unseeded Pearly-Thinaah overcame their opponents 21-16, 21-14 in the match played at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris.
Pearly-Thinaah, who caused a major upset by disposing of tournament top seeds Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti from Indonesia in the opening round, will now face third seeds Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida from Japan.
The Japanese pair defeated Denmark’s Alexandra Boje and Amalie Magelund 21-18, 21-7 in another second round match to earn their quarterfinal slot.
Meanwhile, in the World Junior Championships held in Spain, national junior Justin Hoh failed to move into the quarterfinals after losing to South Korea’s Kim Byung-jae 17-21, 19-21 at the Palacio de Deportes de Santander.