SHUTTLERS Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah turned heroes again.
Malaysia’s anxious wait for their target-exceeding seventh gold was delivered emphatically by the world No. 10 women’s doubles pair Pearly-Thinaah in a fabulous fashion at the National Exhibition Centre yesterday.
Pearly-Thinaah were in awesome form as they demolished England’s Lauren Smith-Chloe Birch 21-5, 21-8 to nail the gold medal on their debut.
It was the last gold medal match as the curtain comes down on the Game.
While their more established doubles teammates crumbled under pressure and failed to progress to the final after Malaysia’s mixed team success, Pearly-Thinaah were ruthless in their approach.
Pearly-Thinaah were in an uncompromising mood as they went on the attacking mode from the get go and left the English pair clueless and the final appeared more like a training session rather than a Commonwealth Games final.
Their victory also ensured Malaysia maintained their strong grip in the women’s doubles where they have won four of the last five golds.
The victory not only helped Malaysia surpass their six-gold target but also gave badminton their second gold in the Games.
Pearly and Thinaah also came to the rescue last week when they delivered the winning point in Malaysia’s 3-1 victory against India in the mixed team final.
Earlier, first-timer Ng Tze Yong went down fighting 21-19, 9-21, 16-21 to Lakshya Sen of India in the final.
Malaysia were also expected to win the men’s doubles but Aron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik could only claim bronze after beating compatriots Chan Peng Soon-Tan Kian Meng 21-19, 11-21, 21-11 in the playoff on Saturday.
Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing were also favoured to win the mixed doubles crown but they also had to settle for the bronze after beating Adam Hall-Julie Macpherson of Scotland 21-15, 21-17.
Pearly-Thinaah’s victory gave Malaysia a final haul of seven golds, eight silvers and eight bronze medals and a 10th spot in the standings.– The Star