Pearly–Thinaah reach first Denmark Open semi-final
The Malaysian pair recovered from a game down to beat Treesa Jolly–Gayatri Gopichand, ending an 18-year wait for a women's doubles semi-finalist.
Malaysia's Pearly Tan–M. Thinaah secured their first semi-final appearance at the Denmark Open by defeating India's Treesa Jolly–Gayatri Gopichand 14–21, 21–17, 21–11 at the SJF Bank Arena. The world No. 5 pair were among three Malaysian partnerships to advance from the quarter-finals.
Their victory gave Malaysia its first women's doubles semi-finalists at the tournament in 18 years. Wong Pei Tty–Chin Eei Hui last reached that stage during their run to the title in 2008. Pearly said she was pleased with the milestone but wanted to progress further while maintaining control of their game and emotions.
Pearly said cautious, defensive play had led to mistakes before a discussion on court helped change their approach. After losing the opening game, they trailed 11–14 in the second before reminding each other to play more freely and concentrate on individual points rather than the outcome.
They next meet China's Bao Lijing–Cao Zihan, who beat Bulgaria's Gabriela Stoeva–Stefani Stoeva 21–12, 26–24. Thinaah said rest and preparation would be important, with the Malaysians approaching the contest point by point.
In men's doubles, Aaron Chia–Soh Wooi Yik defeated Japan's Hiroki Okamura–Kyohei Yamashita 21–16, 21–18 to earn a meeting with South Korea's Kim Won Ho–Seo Seung Jae. Mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron–Lai Pei Jing beat Japan's Akira Koga–Natsu Saito 21–15, 24–22 and will face China's Feng Yan Zhe–Huang Dong Ping. Malaysia's Goh Sze Fei–Nur Izzuddin Rumsani were eliminated by China's Liang Wei Keng–Wang Chang.
