KUALA LUMPUR: The thrill of intense competition has brought out the best in Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, as they advanced to the Denmark Open quarter-finals.
World No. 7 Pearly-Thinaah triumphed 20-22, 21-18, 21-16 against South Korea's Lee Yu Lim-Shin Seung Chan in a gruelling 70-minute battle in Odense on Thursday.
The victory was particularly sweet, avenging their semi-final loss to Yu Lim-Seung Chan at the Malaysia Masters in May.
Thursday's match extended Pearly-Thinaah's recent streak of endurance tests, totalling 344 minutes across their last four encounters.
This includes a 74-minute first-round clash with India's Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, and two demanding matches en route to their Arctic Open runner-up finish last week: a 102-minute semi-final against Japan's Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi and a 58-minute final defeat to China's Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning.
Their average match duration stands at an impressive 86 minutes.
"My legs feel like they're carrying an extra 100kg. It's a struggle to move," quipped an exhausted Pearly.
She credited Thinaah for her support and motivation throughout the match.
"Thinaah's constant encouragement kept me going.
"Seeing her determination boosted my confidence. We fought point by point and ultimately prevailed."
Thinaah echoed Pearly's sentiments, emphasising that their fatigue was overshadowed by their rediscovered joy in playing badminton, which has fuelled their recent success.
Following a strong top-four finish at the Paris Olympics, Pearly-Thinaah clinched the Hong Kong Open title and finished runner-up at the Korea Open.
"It's challenging, but our excitement to compete daily drives us forward," Thinaah said.
"We're riding a wave of good momentum and aim to maintain it.
"We savoured not just the match, but every point played. Despite our exhaustion, we kept motivating each other and stuck to our strategy, regardless of our opponents' lead."
Pearly-Thinaah anticipate another marathon match in the quarter-finals, facing Iwanaga-Nakanishi on Friday.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's mixed doubles campaign ended with Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin's elimination. Despite a valiant effort, they succumbed 21-8, 21-23, 21-14.