Pearly-Thinaah get timely confidence boost despite team’s exit

By the Editorial Team · Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Malaysia’s women’s badminton team was eliminated from the 2026 Asian Games after a 3-1 quarter-final loss to defending champions South Korea, ending their chance to win a team medal for the first time since 1962. Despite the defeat, the strong performances of doubles pairs Pearly Tan/M. Thinaah and Cheng Su Yin/Low Zi Yu highlighted Malaysia’s potential as they prepare for the upcoming individual events.

Malaysia's women’s badminton team exited the 2026 Asian Games after a 3-1 quarter-final loss to defending champions South Korea at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium in Aichi on Tuesday. The defeat ended Malaysia’s bid to secure their first medal in the women’s team event since the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.

Despite the overall team loss, the Malaysian doubles pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah delivered a notable performance by winning their match against the world-class South Korean pair Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee. Pearly-Thinaah defeated the world No. 2 pair 22-20, 21-17, leveling the score at 1-1 following K. Letshanaa’s straight-games loss to world No. 1 An Se-young in the opening singles, 12-21, 8-21.

This victory over the reigning world champions marked Pearly-Thinaah's first win against them in two years, having last prevailed at the 2024 Hong Kong Open. The win also offered some redemption after the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, where the same South Korean duo ended their run in the quarter-finals, denying Malaysia a chance at a medal. Team officials noted that revisiting video footage of their best performances contributed to the pair regaining some of their previous form, which is timely with individual events set to begin Friday.

A newly formed Malaysian pair, Cheng Su Yin and Low Zi Yu, also received attention for their competitive display despite limited preparation. Su Yin had not competed in women’s doubles for three years, last partnering with her sister Cheng Su Hui at the 2023 Nantes International Challenge. The duo pushed South Korea’s Kim Hye-jeong and Jeong Na-eun, who have been ranked as high as world No. 3 in 2022, to a tight three-game match before narrowly falling 18-21, 21-11, 22-24. The South Korean pair’s experience ultimately secured the winning point that eliminated Malaysia from medal contention.

Following the team event, Pearly-Thinaah, Su Yin, and Zi Yu will shift focus to individual competitions. Su Yin, making her Asian Games debut, will resume her mixed doubles partnership with Chen Tang Jie, while the 16-year-old Zi Yu is set to compete in women’s doubles alongside Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan.

Malaysia’s women’s badminton squad will aim to build on the confidence gained from these matches as they pursue further success in the individual events later this week.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.