Pearly-Thinaah Admit Simple Mistakes Have Become a Habit

Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah say simple mistakes have begun to feel like a habit, leaving the world No. 5 women’s doubles pair with only about two weeks to make changes before the Asian Games.

Their defeat by Thailand’s Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard came at an awkward time. Pearly-Thinaah lost 16-21, 21-17, 19-21 in the second round of the China Masters at Shenzhen Arena, and the result left their head-to-head record against the Thai pair level at 2-2.

The loss was also their second straight defeat to the same opponents on the World Tour, following a loss at the Singapore Open in May. Pearly said the pair needed to reassess their playing style more seriously after repeated errors began affecting their rhythm and confidence.

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There is still a lot we need to improve, especially the way we play on court, and I feel that simple mistakes have become a habit for both of us.

“There is still a lot we need to improve, especially the way we play on court, and I feel that simple mistakes have become a habit for both of us,” Pearly said. “We really need to go back, think about it seriously and work to improve it. I hope we can make changes during these two weeks before the Asian Games.”

Thinaah said they had wasted opportunities late in the match by becoming too eager to win points. “Toward the end of the match, there were several shots where we were not patient enough because we thought we could get the point, but we became too eager,” she said. “That cost us a lot on important points, so this is something we need to improve before the Asian Games.”

The teenage pair Low Zi Yu and Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan also exited the tournament, losing 13-21, 16-21 to fourth seeds Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian of China in a 39-minute match.

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Toward the end of the match, there were several shots where we were not patient enough because we thought we could get the point, but we became too eager.