Pearly-Thinaah exit in Tour Finals semis as Malaysia’s men’s doubles bow out
Published: Dec 20, 2025
Arthur Jones
Writer
The semi-final setback was Pearly-Thinaah’s second defeat to the Japanese pair in two days, having also met them in their final Group B match on Friday (Dec 19).
PETALING JAYA: Women’s doubles duo Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah saw their bid for a place in the World Tour Finals final come to an end after losing to Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto 19-21, 13-21 on Saturday (Dec 20).
Still, there was a silver lining for the Malaysians, who will head home with prize money of about US$60,000 (RM245,000) after reaching the last four.
Meanwhile, men’s doubles partners Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were left dejected as their World Tour Finals run ended with a 21-17, 18-21, 15-21 loss to India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in their final Group B encounter on Friday (Dec 19).
At the Hangzhou Olympic Centre, Aaron-Wooi Yik had needed a straight-games victory to advance to the semi-finals, as they were locked in a close contest with China’s Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang for the remaining knockout spot.
However, Rankireddy-Shetty had already booked their place in the next round before the tie.
Aaron-Wooi Yik battled hard, but a series of unforced errors in the second game allowed the Indian duo to force a decider, which ultimately dashed the Malaysians’ hopes.
It marked the sixth time Aaron-Wooi Yik has failed to progress beyond the group stage at the World Tour Finals. Another men’s doubles pairing, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, also exited the competition.
They needed a win to reach the semi-finals from Group A but were outplayed by South Korea’s Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae, going down 23-25, 21-14, 19-21.
