KUALA LUMPUR: Former national women's doubles player Woon Khe Wei believes the strong bond between Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah is their deadliest weapon, leading to a successful group stage campaign at the Paris Olympics.
Despite being the lowest-ranked women's pair in Group A, dubbed the "Group of Death," Pearly-Thinaah defied expectations to finish second behind China's world No. 1 Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan.
After an initial loss to Qing Chen-Yi Fan, the Malaysian pair bounced back with consecutive victories over Japan's world No. 6 Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara and Indonesia's world No. 9 Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti, securing their spot in the quarter-finals.
In doing so, Pearly-Thinaah became only the second Malaysian women's pair to advance this far at the Olympics, matching the feat achieved by Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Khe Wei feels that Pearly-Thinaah are destined for even greater achievements, provided they maintain their current momentum into the knockout stage.
Pearly-Thinaah will next face South Korea's Kim So Yeong-Kong Hee Yong, who topped Group D, for a place in the semi-finals.
Khe Wei believes that luck favoured Pearly-Thinaah in avoiding Chinese rivals in the last eight.
"I would say this draw isn't too bad. It's definitely better than facing Chinese opponents, who present a bigger challenge," said Khe Wei, a guest pundit on Astro Arena for the Paris Olympics.
"Pearly-Thinaah always have a chance against South Korean and Japanese competitors. It's always 50-50. So, I truly believe they have a shot at victory."
Khe Wei added that what impresses her most about Pearly-Thinaah is their shared goal and unity as they enter the Olympics.
"That's why I was not surprised that they have come this far because they are indeed a formidable partnership," said Khe Wei.
"The bond between the two players is strong. I'm genuinely happy to see them have this kind of connection and strong spirit because, honestly, it's not easy to find two partners fighting as one in a competition.
"I recently watched an interview where they both said they would 'die together on the court,' which reminded me of my time during the Rio Olympics.
"The idea is to treat each game as if it's the last game of their lives, which helps them play without pressure. At this stage, there's nothing to worry about, so just go for it."
Analysing their playing style, Khe Wei praised the pair's versatility and strategy.
The thrilling display by Pearly-Thinaah, said Khe Wei, shows that they have the game to match any top pairs in the world.
"They play very steadily with a lot of variation in their shots. When they attack, they don't just keep attacking forcefully; they mix it up with some smashes and then place shots behind the opponents before continuing the attack," said Khe Wei.
"Their defence is also solid and steady too. Overall, I think their performance at the Olympics has been pretty good. They played extremely well."
Should Pearly-Thinaah defeat So Yeong-Hee Yong, they will set up a rematch with Qing Chen-Yi Fan.
Pearly-Thinaah had faced the South Koreans only once, back in 2021 World Tour Finals group stage, losing 21-14, 21-14.