Vantaa, Finland — Malaysia’s women’s doubles stars Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan claimed their second title of the 2025 badminton season after a flawless performance at the Arctic Open on Sunday.
In the final, the world No. 2 pair overpowered Japan’s Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi — ranked world No. 6 — in just 32 minutes, winning 21–7, 21–9 to lift the women’s doubles crown at the US$475,000 event.
Watch highlights of Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan vs. Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi in the 2025 Arctic Open Final:
It was the Malaysian duo’s sixth victory in eight career meetings with the Japanese pair — and their second straight win this year after also defeating them at the Japan Open.
Tan and Muralitharan stamped their authority early, storming to a 13–4 lead in the first game with an explosive 8–0 run. Their aggressive smashes and quick transitions left their opponents scrambling, as they sealed the opener 21–7.
The second game followed a similar pattern. After an early 1–1 tie, the Malaysians surged ahead 11–3 at the interval and never looked back, closing out the match 21–9 with ease.
This victory marked the pair’s fifth final appearance of 2025 and their second title, following their triumph at the Thailand Open. They had previously finished runners-up at the Indonesia Masters, Indonesia Open, and Japan Open.
After the match, Thinaah Muralitharan expressed her joy and gratitude:
“We’re really happy with how we performed today. We kept supporting and reminding each other throughout the match. Tonight, we’ll celebrate a little, then refocus for the Denmark Open.”
The champions pocketed US$37,525 (approximately RM158,000) and earned 9,200 BWF ranking points.
Next up for the Malaysians is the Denmark Open (October 14–19), where they will enter as the No. 2 seeds and face Indonesia’s Rachel Allessya Rose/Febi Setianingrum in the opening round.
In the men’s doubles final, Malaysia’s Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik fell just short of the title after a marathon 76-minute battle against England’s Ben Lane/Sean Vendy. Despite their best efforts, the Malaysians lost 18–21, 27–25, 17–21.
Watch highlights of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik vs. Ben Lane/Sean Vendy in the 2025 Arctic Open Final:
The defeat marked their second loss to the English pair this year, following their Hong Kong Open meeting in September. Still, it was another strong week for Malaysia, as Chia and Soh added their third runner-up finish of the season to go along with titles at the Asian Championships, Thailand Open, and Singapore Open.
Meanwhile, Lane and Vendy celebrated their first title of 2025, with their best previous result being a quarter-final showing at the Swiss Open in March.
With Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan’s victory and Chia/Soh’s runner-up finish, Malaysia closed out the 2025 Arctic Open on a high note, reinforcing its position as one of the most competitive nations in world badminton.
