KUALA LUMPUR: Though they lost today (July 27), women's pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah feel that their fighting performance against China's world No 1 Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fa have given them hope to win their remaining two Group A matches and qualify for the Olympic quarter-finals.
The Malaysian world No. 13 put up a commendable show before succumbing 21-17, 22-20 to the China pair at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena.
Thinaah rued that they were so close to forcing a rubber set, but said she and Pearly
will now take the positives from their performance for their remaining matches.
Pearly-Thinaah will next face Japan's world No. 6 Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara tomorrow, and their last group match is against Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.
"We really supported each other in every point and rally (against Qing Chen-Yi Fah), and that is something we can bring forward to the next matches.
"This is our first Olympics, and I didn't expect a full house. We were surprised to see the crowd out there.
"Coming into the match, we had mixed feelings. We were nervous, excited and happy to be competing at the biggest stage. And we are looking forward to the next matches," the 26-year-old told the BWF.
Pearly said their performance against the top seeds has boosted their confidence, and she hopes to keep this momentum for their next two matches.
"We still need to be more consistent and brave during the crucial points, that's is what we learned from today," added the 24-year-old.