Oum Scholarship Fuels Thinaah's French Open Bid

PETALING JAYA, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- A scholarship from Open University Malaysia (OUM) has provided a timely boost for national number one women’s doubles shuttler M. Thinaah ahead of her participation in the French Open in Paris from March 5-10.

Thinaah, who has been pursuing a Bachelor of Education in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) at OUM since May 2020, said the scholarship would fuel her ambition to win the Super 750 event with her partner Pearly Tan.

“I believe it (scholarship) is a good motivation for me. Yes, it (French Open success) is my aim. 

“I think our preparations are so far so good. So we pray for the best,” she told a press conference after receiving the scholarship here today.

World number 15 Pearly-Thinaah will open their French Open campaign against world number five Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu of China.

Pearly-Thinaah became the first Malaysian women's pair to win the French Open when they defeated two-time world champions Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara of Japan 21-19, 18-21 21-15 in the 2022 edition final.

When asked about her choice to pursue a Bachelor of Education in TESL, the 26-year-old player said she has been interested in English since childhood.

“Since I'm travelling most of the time, I think English is very important,” she said.

Thinaah said her academic pursuit would not disrupt her sporting career, thanks to the flexible online learning platform provided by OUM.

OUM president-cum-vice-chancellor Professor Dr Ahmad Izanee Awang said the university is extending full financial support to Thinaah for the January 2023 to May 2024 period.

Ahmad Izanee said OUM decided to offer Thinaah the scholarship because it is impressed by her academic performance and remarkable progress in badminton.

-- BERNAMA