KUALA LUMPUR: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah delivered the perfect early Malaysia Day gift by clinching the women's doubles title at the Hong Kong Open in style today.
In a dominant 37-minute final, Pearly-Thinaah crushed world No. 3 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning 21-14, 21-14, showing they are back in top form and ready to conquer the women's doubles scene.
This is the world No. 8's first World Tour title since their French Open triumph in 2022, and their third overall, adding to their 2021 Swiss Open victory.
"Just over two weeks ago, we reached the Korea Open final but couldn't bring home a Merdeka gift for Malaysia," Thinaah told the Badminton World Federation today.
"I'm grateful that God gave us another chance, and this title is definitely a gift for Malaysia.
"Happy Malaysia Day, and thank you to all the fans who supported us today."
Pearly-Thinaah also made history by becoming the first Malaysian women's doubles pair to win a Super 500 tournament since its inception in 1982.
"We didn't think about it at the time, but this win boosts our confidence a lot. Winning in front of the Hong Kong crowd felt amazing," said Thinaah.
Reflecting on their performance, she added: "In the second game, we rushed a bit and made some simple mistakes, but we'll learn from that and be more cautious next time."
Pearly credited strong communication between them during the final as the key to their victory.
"We aim to become more consistent, and we hope to maintain this momentum in the upcoming tournaments," said Pearly.
The pair were runners-up in last year's edition of the tournament.