From R. Vikeneswaran
PARIS, July 27 (Bernama) -- A first appearance at the Olympic Games is surely an unforgettable experience for any athlete, but for Malaysia's women's doubles player M. Thinaah, it was made even more special by meeting world tennis star Rafael Nadal.
Thinaah shared that she had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a photo with the former world number one from Spain, and also met American gymnastics ace, Simone Biles.
“I had the chance to meet and take a photo with Nadal, an experience you can't get anywhere else. We appreciate that, we also get the Olympics experience,” she said at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena, the venue for badminton competitions here.
Nadal and Biles were among the world sports stars who participated in the opening ceremony on the Seine River yesterday.
Nadal, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, will compete in the singles event this time, while Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, is scheduled to compete in three artistic gymnastics events starting tomorrow.
Earlier, Thinaah and her partner Pearly Tan, who are the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games champions, lost 17-21, 20-22 after a tough 55-minute match against world number one pair Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan from China in Group A action.
Pearly-Thinaah must now win against the world number six pair Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara from Japan tomorrow and Apriyani Rahayu-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti from Indonesia to qualify for the quarter-finals.
“It is a little bit disappointing that we couldn't get the second set, but overall I think we gave our 100 per cent. Just that during the crucial moments, I think the Chinese did better than us. But we take all the positives forward for the next match, and will continue to support each other and focus on every point and rally,” said Thinaah.
Pearly said that despite today's loss, they had positives to take into their upcoming matches.
“During the second set, we kept supporting each other, kept reminding each other to enjoy every point and the stage we are at right now. We really enjoyed today but unfortunately, we lost the match,” she said.
-- BERNAMA
