TOKYO: The pain was becoming unbearable for shuttler Pearly Tan in the Japan Open in Tokyo today.
In the end, she and M. Thinaah had to retire midway through the rubber game of their last-16 match against South Korea's Lee Yu Lim-Baek Ha Na.
Pearly-Thinaah were trailing 16-11 when they decided to call it quits.
Earlier, Pearly-Thinaah were in their element as they claimed the opening game 21-13 and were leading 17-13 in the second.
And that was when Pearly suffered a cruel twist of fate as she injured her left knee following an awkward landing.
After being attended to by medical personnel, she was given the green light to resume the match.
However, her injury paved the way for Yu Lim-Ha Na to make a comeback and seal the second game 21-19.
In the rubber game, Pearly soldiered on with Thinaah and the pair even took a 9-3 advantage.
But the pain proved too much for Pearly as the match turned into a lopsided one.
With Pearly struggling with her movement, the Koreans took advantage to win 13 of their next 15 points before the Malaysians decided to retire. Pearly was left in tears as she was stretchered out of the arena.
National doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky said Pearly could have torn her hamstring based on an early assessment by the doctor.
Malaysian fans will still have plenty to look forward to as Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi, Tan Kiang Meng-Lai Pei Jing and Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei are still in the fray.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi made it to the last eight by ousting the Popov brothers of France, Christo and Toma Junior 21-13, 21-13.
In the mixed doubles, Kian Meng-Pei Jing clinched a hard-fought win over Taiwan's Yang Po Hsuan-Hu Ling Fang 21-14, 11-21, 21-15. They face a stern test against China's Olympic champions Wang Yi Lyu-Huang Dong Ping for a place in the semis.
Hoo Pang Ron-Toh Ee Wei will also face a daunting task against top seeds and world champions Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong in the last eight. They prevailed 29-3, 21-18, 21-11 over Dutch pair Robin Tabeling-Selena Piek.
However, it was the end of the road for Vivian Hoo-Lim Chiew Sien after they lost 21-16, 21-14 to world champions Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan. Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai were also no match for Japan's Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino in the mixed doubles, losing 21-13, 21-8.