Stellar feats: Pearly Tan (right) and M. Thinaah stunned top seeds Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee in the semi-finals.
PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei are aiming for a strong finish in the Korean Open after storming into the final in superb fashion.
Pearly-Thinaah stole the show in the women’s doubles with a stunning 21-18, 21-13 win over home favourites and top seeds Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee in the semi-finals in Mokpo yesterday.
It was an inspiring performance from the world No. 9 on Merdeka Day as they silenced the home crowd and reached their first final of the year.
Pearly-Thinaah had suffered heartbreak twice against world No. 2 Ha-na-So-hee when they lost to them in the Malaysian Masters final and last eight of the Hangzhou Asian Games last year but were not to be denied this time.
Said Pearly: “We prepared well before this match as we knew it would be tough for us.
“This win means a lot for us as we lost to them twice before.
“It also feels great to win on our Independence Day and hopefully we can give the country a better gift by winning again tomorrow (today).”
Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei reached their first ever World Tour Super 500 final by narrowly beating China’s world No. 31 Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi.
The pair will take on another home duo, world No. 20 Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hye-jeong for the title today.
The Koreans, who were ranked as high as No. 3 in the world in 2022, hold a slight advantage based on the head-to-head records as they have beaten Pearly-Thinaah twice in their past three meetings.
Pearly-Thinaah though will be boosted by their superb victory yesterday and can take heart from their sole win over Na-eun-Hye-jeong in the semi-finals of the Malaysian Masters last year.
The Malaysians last captured a World Tour title in the 2022 French Open and will be keen to end their two-year wait.
Tang Jie-Ee Wei too are out to make the country proud after reaching their first ever World Tour Super 500 final by narrowly beating China’s world No. 31 Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi 22-20, 21-19 yesterday.
They will play Guo Xinwa-Li Qian of China in the title match.
The world No. 9 Tang Jie-Ee Wei’s biggest achievement prior to this was reaching four Super 300 finals and winning two titles (Orleans Masters and Taiwan Open last year).
“Today (yesterday) is a very special day for us and we know everyone is supporting us,” said Ee Wei in a post match interview with Spotv.
“We are happy that we won and did not disappoint everyone. We will give our very best to win again tomorrow (today).
Tang Jie said: “This is a breakthrough for us as we had never reached a final in a tournament above Super 300 level.
“We have one more match to go and we need to prepare well. We want to make the country proud.”
On the final opponents, whom they have never met before, Tang Jie said: “We know the Chinese pair are very strong and it will be a challenging match for us.”
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Lu Guangzu (Chn) bt Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hkg) 13-21, 21-19, 21-12; Lee Chia-hao (Tpe) bt Lin Chun-yi (Tpe) 21-18, 22-20.
Men’s doubles: Kang Min-hyuk-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Chiu Hsiang-chieh- Wang Chi-lin (Tpe) 25-27, 25-23, 21-11; Leo Rolly-Bagas Maulana (Ina) bt Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin (Ina) 21-9, 21-14.
Women’s singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt Sim Yu-jin (Kor) 19-21, 21-13, 24-22; Kim Ga-eun (Kor) bt Lin Hsiang-ti (Tpe) 21-10, 21-14.
Women’s doubles: Jeong Na-eun-Kim Hyejeong (Kor) bt Lee Yu-lim-Shin Seung-chan (Kor) 21-14, 21-11; Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (Mas) bt Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-18, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Mas) bt Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi (Chn) 22-20, 21-19; Guo Xinwa-Li Qian (Chn) bt Kim Won-ho-Jeong Na-eun (Kor) 21-14, 22-24, 21-10.
