Bangkok – Malaysia’s top-ranked women’s doubles team, Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, are through to the 2025 Thailand Open final, moving within reach of their first BWF World Tour title of the year.
Watch Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan vs. Rui Hirokami/Sayaka Hobara in the 2025 Thailand Open semi-final:
Competing at the BWF Super 500 event, the world No. 4 pair delivered a solid performance against Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara, winning 21-18, 21-12 in just 45 minutes at Bangkok’s Nimibutr Stadium.
Despite a slightly sluggish start in the opening game, Pearly and Thinaah quickly found their rhythm. Their strong net control and tactical placement overwhelmed the Japanese pair in the second game, sealing the win in straight sets.
This marks the Malaysian duo’s first final appearance in 2025, and comes amid reported contract disputes with the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM). They now prepare for a final clash against the unseeded yet dangerous South Korean pair Jeong Na Eun and Lee Yeon Woo, ranked 105 in the world.
The Koreans booked their place in the final after upsetting Taiwan’s Hsu Ya Ching and Sung Yu Hsuan, 21-17, 21-19, showing sharp form despite being a newly formed pair.
Speaking to BWF post-match, Pearly Tan shared her outlook for the final:
“We’ve played them before. Na Eun is an Olympic silver medalist, and although this is a new pairing, they’re strong and very capable. We’ll stay focused on our own strategy and give it everything.”
Elsewhere, Thai top seed Pornpawee Chochuwong will face China’s Chen Yu Fei in the women’s singles final, while China has guaranteed gold in mixed doubles with Gao Jia Xuan/Wu Meng Ying set to face compatriots Feng Yan Zhe/Huang Dong Ping in an all-Chinese final.
Pearly and Thinaah’s path to the title includes semifinal runs at the India Open and Indonesia Masters earlier this season. Now, they aim to cap it off with a trophy in Bangkok.
