Malaysia’s women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-M Thinaah have secured a bronze medal at the Asian Games after losing to China’s world No. 1 pairing Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning in a hard-fought semi-final.
The 85-minute battle at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi, Japan, saw the world No. 5 Malaysians make a strong start before the Chinese pair fought back to win 16-21, 22-20, 21-12.
Despite missing out on a place in the final, Pearly-Thinaah’s bronze ended Malaysia’s 12-year wait for a women’s doubles medal at the Asian Games.
The last Malaysian women’s doubles pair to achieve the feat were Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei, who won bronze at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
The defeat also marked the seventh time Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning have beaten Pearly-Thinaah in their 10 meetings.
Pearly-Thinaah’s bronze represents an improvement from their campaign at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
However, Malaysia’s women’s doubles category is still waiting for its first Asian Games final appearance, with no Malaysian pair having reached the gold-medal match in the competition’s 62-year history.
