Pearly-Thinaah fails in the semifinals

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s hopes of reaching the 2023 German Open final were dashed after top women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah fell in the semifinals in Mülheim on Saturday.

The world No. 6 pair suffered a 24-22, 21-13 loss to top seeds Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida of Japan in a 42-minute encounter.

In the past clashes between them, Pearly-Thinaah, who is third in the tournament, has only beaten Nami-Chiharu once at the 2022 French Open while losing seven times to the world’s second-ranked women’s doubles pair.

The Japanese pair meet Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee of South Korea, who is also the eighth seed of the tournament to win this season’s title, in the final, which is expected at midnight Malaysian time.

Now, Pearly-Thinaah, who is also French Open 2022 champion, has her focus on the All England 2023 which will start on Tuesday (March 14) as she faces Japanese pairing Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara in the first round should meet . –Bernama