Asian games 2026: Pearly-Thinaah Settle for Bronze
Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan missed the chance to become the first Malaysian women's doubles pair to reach an Asian Games final. They lost a gripping three-set semifinal to China's world number one duo, Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning, at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Games today.
The world number five pairing pushed the top seeds all the way before going down 21-16, 20-22, 12-21 in 85 minutes at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium. They leave Japan with a bronze medal.
Pearly-Thinaah started brilliantly, taking the opening game 21-16 and putting the tournament favourites on the back foot. The Malaysians were dominant enough to raise hopes of an upset that would have sent them into the gold medal match.
The second game was a close contest. Sheng Shu-Tan Ning lifted their level and dragged the match into a decider, but only after Pearly-Thinaah made them work for it. The Malaysians fought back repeatedly to close the gap, levelling at 19-19 and again at 20-20 with a final-set spot within reach.
The last two points went to the Chinese pair, who edged the game 22-20 and swung the momentum decisively.
The final game belonged to the world number ones. Sheng Shu-Tan Ning were sharper and more aggressive, controlling the rallies and closing out a 21-12 win. It was their 11th victory over Pearly-Thinaah in 14 meetings, a head-to-head record that shows how hard the Malaysians' task was.
The defeat means the Malaysian pair's Asian Games journey ends without a gold medal match. That is still a landmark week for Malaysian badminton. After beating India's Gayatri Gopichand-Treesa Jolly 21-18, 21-9 in the quarterfinals, Pearly-Thinaah secured the country's first Asian Games women's doubles medal since Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei's bronze at Incheon 2014.
No Malaysian women's doubles pair has ever reached an Asian Games final. Before this campaign, the nation's best results were three bronze medals: Tan Gaik Bee-Ng Mei Ling at Jakarta 1962, Rosalind Singha Ang-Teoh Siew Yong at Bangkok 1970, and Hoo-Woon at Incheon 2014.
Credit Photo : MSN
