Rosman sets realistic 'top-four' target for Pearly-Thinaah at Malaysia Open

KUALA LUMPUR: National coach Rosman Razak believes a place in the semi-finals represents a realistic target for Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah at Malaysia Open which starts Tuesday — and insists there is no rush to demand more.

The world No. 2 have been handed what appears to be a favourable route in the early rounds, but Rosman stressed that expectations must remain grounded as they prepare to open their 2026 campaign on home soil.

"Honestly, not for this tournament," he said when asked if the pair could go all the way.

"For Pearly-Thinaah, a realistic target is top four. That's realistic. We'll still take it one match at a time — it's the first tournament of a long season."

Pearly-Thinaah are slated to open against India's Panda sisters, Rutaparna-Swetaparna before potentially meeting either India's Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand or Indonesia's Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari.

A likely quarter-final, however, could pit them against South Korea's Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee — the pair who beat them at the China Masters and went on to win the World Tour Finals.

That mix of opportunity and danger is exactly why Rosman prefers measured ambitions.

The Malaysia Open, a Super 1000 event, also comes on the back of a heavy 2025 calendar that included the SEA Games and World Tour Finals in December.

Rosman said the pair have accepted that expectations follow them, but the focus is on managing pressure.

"We cannot say, 'let's take it easy for this one'. For Pearly-Thinaah, we can't think like that," he said.

"We accept the pressure, accept the targets, and manage them as best we can."

He also played down talk of a "first-round jinx", despite Pearly-Thinaah having fallen early in several recent editions of the Malaysia Open.

"Let's not call it a jinx. We move past that," he said.

Rosman confirmed that Pearly-Thinaah will compete in fewer tournaments this season, with a more selective programme aimed at peaking at key events.

The pair played 22 tournaments last year, but their schedule is expected to be trimmed by about 20 per cent with compulsory events such as Super 1000s, Super 750s and major team competitions remaining priorities.

"We'll have a long season, and there are big tournaments ahead," Rosman added.

"We just want to manage it better."