Malaysian women’s doubles badminton pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah remain focused on further achievements despite their recent success on the international stage. The duo secured a bronze medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, adding to their growing list of accomplishments and providing a highlight for Malaysia’s badminton contingent following a generally disappointing tournament.

The pair, who have risen as a prominent force in women’s doubles, expressed both satisfaction with their current progress and determination to aim higher, with their sights firmly set on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Pearly emphasized the importance of maintaining fitness, pointing to injury challenges encountered earlier in the year as a potential barrier to sustained performance.

“This tournament only comes once every four years, so we don’t know what will happen next time. Of course, we are looking forward to the Olympics,” Pearly said upon returning to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. “But before that, there are still many tournaments where we have to give our best, especially to qualify for the Olympics. So we don’t want to think too far ahead. For now, the most important thing is for both of us to stay healthy and hopefully keep this momentum going.”

Thinaah echoed this sentiment, underscoring that while they value the bronze medal, their ambitions extend beyond this achievement. “We are very happy to win this medal, but there are still many tournaments and matches ahead and we also have our own targets,” she said.

The pair have attained significant milestones for Malaysian women’s doubles badminton. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, they became the first Malaysian women’s doubles team to reach the semi-finals, narrowly missing out on a medal. They followed this with a runner-up finish at the World Championships the following year—the first Malaysian pair to achieve this—and secured gold at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. This added to the Commonwealth Games gold they won in 2022.

With their Asian Games campaign concluded, Pearly and Thinaah have set their focus on the upcoming World Tour events, starting with the Denmark Open scheduled from October 13-18 and then moving on to the French Open from October 20-25. Their continued participation in these international tournaments is seen as critical to maintaining their ranking and securing qualification points for future major competitions.