KUALA LUMPUR: Pearly Tan–M Thinaah arrived at the Denmark Open without a specific target. Now, they are only one win away from the women's doubles title.
Pearly–Thinaah defeated China's Bao Li Jing–Cao Zi Han 21-16, 21-14 in Saturday's semi-final at the SJF Bank Arena in Odense.
The victory made them the first Malaysian women's doubles pair in 18 years to reach the final, following Chin Eei Hui–Wong Pei Tty, who won the title in 2008.
Thinaah said they had simply wanted to enjoy their badminton and put their training into practice after a short turnaround following the Asian Games.
"To be honest, we just wanted to enjoy the matches here at the Denmark Open. We came back from the Asian Games, had just over a week, then had to fly to Denmark," said Thinaah.
"We wanted to give our best. We did well in training, so we wanted to apply that in the tournament here."
Their passage into the final brought plenty of smiles, but Thinaah was particularly pleased with how they communicated when their game became unsettled.
"The most important thing I'm happy about is the communication we had, especially when things weren't going smoothly. We managed to pick that up quickly and turn it back around," she said.
"That was one of the crucial things we were focusing on, so that's something I'm happy about."
Pearly said facing an unfamiliar combination reinforced the importance of concentrating on their own performance and keeping their emotions in check.
"We cannot control how our opponents play, but we can control our emotions and our gameplay on court," said Pearly.
"We always try to stay alert to our own gameplay and emotions. That's important against every opponent."
Despite their satisfaction, Thinaah said there were still adjustments to make before Sunday's title decider.
"Overall, we're happy, but there are still things we need to take note of and be alert to for the next game," she added.
Pearly–Thinaah will face either Japan's Hinata Suzuki–Nao Yamakita or Sumire Nakade–Miyu Takahashi in the final.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd