Malaysian women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah are in for a challenge as they face Indonesia’s Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open today.
While Febriana and Amalia may not be as prominent as their compatriots Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia, they have been making steady progress this year and are currently in strong form.
The Indonesian pair has reached four finals this year, winning the Taiwan Open and Australian Open in June, and finishing as runners-up at the Thailand Open and Spain Masters.
They also secured the gold medal at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia.
Febriana and Amalia have climbed from No. 19 to No. 12 in the world rankings, just two spots behind Apriyani and Fadia.
However, based on head-to-head encounters, Pearly and Thinaah, ranked No. 8 globally, have the upper hand, having defeated the Indonesian pair in three out of their four previous meetings.
Febriana and Amalia’s only victory over Pearly and Thinaah came at the 2021 Indonesian Open.
Pearly and Thinaah are also currently enjoying some of their best performances, finishing as runners-up at the Korean Open just two weeks ago.
Yesterday, the Malaysian pair comfortably overcame local duo Lui Lok Lok and Tsang Hiu Yan 21-16, 21-14 at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon, securing their spot in the quarter-finals.
