KUALA LUMPUR: One too many unforced errors saw Malaysia's Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah fall short in their bid to reach their maiden All England semi-finals today.
Despite holding advantage after winning the first game, the world No. 15 could not see out the match at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, succumbing 11-21, 21-18, 21-18 to Japan's world No. 11 Rena Miyaura-Ayako Sakuramoto.
The defeat was Pearly-Thinaah's second to the Japanese duo in three meetings. Rena-Ayako will face either Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard or compatriots Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida in the last four tomorrow.
As for Pearly-Thinaah, the quarter-final finish equalled their previous best, achieved in 2021 and 2022.
"We are disappointed. We made several mistakes during the crucial moments of the match and that cost us dearly.
"However, looking back at the last few months, there has been improvement to our game and we believe we are heading in the right direction.
"There is still room for improvement and we hope to continue building on our good performance," said Thinaah.
Pearly said the urge to kill the shuttle fast, led to the Malaysians making mistakes.
"The Japanese pair were very strong defensively and their patience was key to their victory.
"We need to learn from our defeat to them," she added.