KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — National women’s doubles stars Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah might have played their final tournament under the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) at the Sudirman Cup, with their contract status still unresolved.
The world No. 5 pair have yet to renew their deal with BAM, fuelling speculation that they may soon turn independent, The Star reported today, citing unnamed sources saying the duo are in discussions with sponsors outside the national set-up.
Malaysia’s Sudirman Cup campaign ended last Friday with a 0-3 loss to hosts China in the quarter-finals.
Pearly-Thinaah did not take to the court, as earlier defeats in mixed doubles, men’s singles, and women’s singles sealed the result.
Earlier in the group stage, the top-ranked Malaysians featured in two matches – securing a straight-sets win over France’s Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante, and then narrowly losing to Japan’s pair Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida who are the current world Number 2.
With no strong back-up pairs, BAM fielded Go Pei Kee and Carmen Ting as support.
The inexperienced pair, ranked outside the top 80, lost to Australia’s Gronya Somerville and Angela Yu in the group stage.
While Pei Kee and regular partner Teoh Mei Xing have climbed to world No. 25, and Carmen is showing promise with Ong Xin Yee (ranked No. 64), both pairs remain far from challenging Pearly-Thinaah’s dominance.
BAM reappointed coach Rosman Razak last November in hopes of rebuilding its women’s doubles depth, but progress will take time.
Should Pearly-Thinaah leave, BAM may face a challenging transition period in the discipline.
If they stay, the pair are slated for a packed schedule, with three tournaments this month alone – the Thailand Open (May 13-18), Malaysian Masters (May 20-25), Singapore Open (May 27-June 1), and the Indonesian Open on June 3 to 8.
