KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- National top women’s doubles shuttler Pearly Tan admitted to having mixed feelings after she and her partner, M. Thinaah clinched their first title of the season at the Indonesia Masters 2026 following a walkover win in the final in Jakarta on Sunday.
Pearly shared that she and Thinaah were looking forward to competing against the newly-formed Japanese duo, Arisa Igarashi and Miyu Takahashi, at Istora Senayan, especially after seeing how well their opponents had performed throughout the Super 500 tournament.
“But things happened and I wish our opponent a speedy recovery. We hope to face them in the future,” she told Bernama.
The top seeds were awarded the title before both pairs even stepped onto the court, as it was reported that Takahashi was unable to play due to a fever.
With this result, Pearly and Thinaah became the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to secure the title in the tournament in 15 years, since Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei last won it in 2011.
This also marked the current world number two pair’s first title of the season after competing in three tournaments so far.
Although Pearly-Thinaah have begun to build momentum this season, national doubles coaching director Rexy Mainaky believes the pair still needs to further strengthen their physical conditioning ahead of the All England 2026 in Birmingham from March 3 to 8.
In the meantime, national mixed doubles head coach Nova Widianto expressed his delight in guiding reigning world champions Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei, who made history by becoming the first Malaysian mixed doubles pair to capture the Indonesia Masters title.
Nova hopes the world number four duo will maintain their momentum and achieve strong results at the All England 2026.
The third seeds Tang Jie-Ee Wei sealed their first title this season after a brilliant comeback, defeating Denmark’s Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje 15-21, 21-17, 21-11 in 57 minutes.
Professional men’s doubles pair Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani then capped off a memorable day for Malaysia by securing the country’s third title with a straight-sets victory over homesters Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin, 21-19, 21-13.
This marked their first title in over a year for the world number nine duo and fourth seeds, with their last victory at the India Open 2025 in January last year.
In an Instagram post, Nur Izzuddin praised the team behind their resurgence, crediting their sincerity and support for helping the pair regain their form.
“Thank you to the team for your sincerity and honesty in helping us get back to the top. No matter what others say, we remain steady,” he wrote.
Each doubles champion earned USD39,500 (RM158, 217) while the runners-up received USD19,000 (RM76,104).
-- BERNAMA
