National women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M Thinaah were made to struggle by a much lower-ranked Taiwanese pair in the opening round of the French Open before prevailing to enter the last 16.
The world No 2 pair, who were runners-up in the World Championship, started off slowly, but got their act together before beating world No 16 duo Hsu Yin-Hui-Lin Jhih Yun 21-16, 22-24, 21-12 in 47 minutes.
The Malaysians, who are hoping to win a third title this season, will meet the winners of the match between Japan’s Nanako Hara-Riko Kiyose and China’s Bao Li Jeng-Zhang Shu Xian in the next round.
Pearly-Thinaah created badminton history at the French Open in 2022 when they became the first Malaysian women’s pair to win the title.
They have reached six finals this season.
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