A 37-minute victory brings Malaysia back to the final
Pearly Tan and M Thinaah reached the Denmark Open women's doubles final on October 17, 2026, beating China's Bao Li Jing and Cao Zi Han 21-16, 21-14 at SJF Bank Arena in Odense. The victory made them Malaysia's first finalists in the event since Wong Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui won the title in 2008.
Contents
- A 37-minute victory brings Malaysia back to the final
- A decisive win against opponents with three titles
- What the return means after 18 years
- The comeback that kept their campaign alive
- Pearly calls for focus after the milestone
- A Japanese pair awaits on Sunday
- A second title and a December place are at stake
- Two Malaysian finals from three semifinal chances
- Three days that shaped the title bid
- Key Points
The Malaysian world No. 5 pair, seeded second, needed just 37 minutes to overcome opponents ranked No. 30. They will play for the title on October 18, seeking their second tournament victory of the year after winning the Indonesia Masters in January.
Their progress also gives Malaysia representatives in two doubles finals. Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik reached the men's final by defeating South Korea's world No. 1 pair Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae. Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing fell in the mixed doubles semifinals.
A decisive win against opponents with three titles
Pearly and Thinaah won both games in their first meeting with Bao and Cao, finishing with margins of five points and seven points. The straight games victory meant they avoided the deciding third game they had needed in the quarterfinals a day earlier.
Bao and Cao arrived with tournament wins at the German Open, Thailand Open and Macau Open this year. Their ranking placed them below the Malaysians, but their collection of titles gave them a record of converting opportunities into trophies.
The Chinese pair had reached the semifinals by beating Bulgaria's Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva 21-12, 26-24. That second game required extra points before Bao and Cao could close out the match. Against Pearly and Thinaah, neither game reached that stage.
What the return means after 18 years
Wong Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui set the Malaysian benchmark at the Denmark Open when they won the women's doubles title in 2008. Pearly and Thinaah have now returned Malaysia to the same championship match, 18 years later.
The pair crossed two milestones during this visit to Odense. Their quarterfinal victory made them the first Malaysian women's doubles semifinalists at the tournament since that 2008 campaign. Their next win took them into the final.
One match now separates them from matching Wong and Chin's title success. Reaching the final has ended the wait for a Malaysian appearance on the last day of the women's doubles competition; winning on Sunday would add the trophy.
The comeback that kept their campaign alive
Pearly and Thinaah's route to the final nearly stopped against India's Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela on October 16. The Malaysians lost the opening game 14-21 and trailed 10-14 in the second before recovering to win 21-17, then taking the deciding game 21-11.
The Badminton World Federation's October 16 results record the match as lasting 56 minutes. Match coverage gave its duration as 55 minutes. The official score shows how sharply the contest changed: after losing the first game by seven points, the Malaysians won the last by 10.
From 10-14 in the second game, Pearly and Thinaah won 11 of the next 14 points to force a decider. They then completed a comeback against opponents ranked No. 18, keeping alive their chance of a first Denmark Open final.
The victory was their eighth in 10 meetings with Jolly and Gopichand. They had also beaten the Indian pair in straight games in the Asian Games quarterfinals the previous month, securing a bronze medal.
Pearly calls for focus after the milestone
Pearly Tan, one half of Malaysia's women's doubles partnership, spoke to the Badminton World Federation after the quarterfinal victory. She said the pair had been unaware of the long gap since Malaysia's previous semifinal appearance.
We did not know we were the first after 18 years to reach the semis here,
Pearly welcomed the achievement while explaining how she and Thinaah intended to approach their next match.
We are really happy to achieve this but we have to stay focused, plan for the next game and keep our emotion in check.
The next day's result carried that campaign another step forward. After needing three games against Jolly and Gopichand, the Malaysians completed their semifinal against Bao and Cao in two, spending 19 fewer minutes on court than in the quarterfinal according to the official timing.
A Japanese pair awaits on Sunday
The other women's doubles semifinal was scheduled between Japan's Hinata Suzuki and Nao Yamakita and their compatriots Sumire Nakade and Miyu Takahashi. Its winner would face Pearly and Thinaah on October 18. A result confirming the final opponent had not been given at the time of the Malaysian semifinal victory.
Nakade and Takahashi had beaten Sayaka Hirota and Ayako Sakuramoto 21-14, 21-10 in 39 minutes on October 16, according to the BWF results. That was a quarterfinal result, putting Nakade and Takahashi into the semifinal against Suzuki and Yamakita.
Hirota and Sakuramoto had initially been named as possible final opponents, but their elimination on October 16 removed them from contention. The remaining semifinal therefore guaranteed that the championship match would be between Malaysia and Japan.
A second title and a December place are at stake
Pearly and Thinaah are chasing a second title this year, having won the Indonesia Masters in January. Their Denmark Open run also builds on their recent Asian Games bronze medal and takes them into another World Tour final.
Odense represents their second final at a tournament in the World Tour Super 750 category, following the 2022 French Open. Super 750 is a tournament tier within badminton's international tour. The number identifies the event's level, rather than the number of players taking part.
The Malaysians were sixth in the standings for December's World Tour Finals before the Denmark final. The top eight qualify for that season ending competition, so their run in Odense strengthens their position in the qualifying race. Their final placing could move them further up the standings.
The world ranking and the World Tour Finals standings serve different purposes. Pearly and Thinaah's No. 5 world ranking describes their broader competitive position, while sixth place in the qualifying standings concerns entry to the December tournament.
Two Malaysian finals from three semifinal chances
Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik secured Malaysia's first final place of the day, beating Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae 21-14, 21-18 in 38 minutes. The fourth seeds had reached that semifinal by defeating Japan's Hiroki Okamura and Kyohei Yamashita 21-16, 21-18.
Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing were unable to join them. They lost their mixed doubles semifinal 13-21, 13-21 to China's world No. 1 pair Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, after beating Japan's Akira Koga and Natsu Saito 21-15, 24-22 in the quarterfinals.
Malaysia therefore converted two of its three semifinal appearances into final places. Another men's pair, Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, had exited in the quarterfinals after losing 21-18, 18-21, 15-21 to China's Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
Three days that shaped the title bid
Pearly and Thinaah's decisive stretch in Odense runs from a recovery against familiar opponents to a final against a Japanese partnership. The key dates are:
- October 16: Beat Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela 14-21, 21-17, 21-11 to reach the semifinals.
- October 17: Defeated Bao Li Jing and Cao Zi Han 21-16, 21-14 in 37 minutes to reach the final.
- October 18: Scheduled to contest the women's doubles final, seeking Malaysia's first title in the event since 2008.
The quarterfinal required a recovery from a game down and a four point deficit in the second game. The semifinal brought a shorter, straight games win. Together, those results have given Pearly and Thinaah a chance to turn a historic final appearance into a title.
Key Points
- Pearly Tan and M Thinaah beat Bao Li Jing and Cao Zi Han 21-16, 21-14 in 37 minutes.
- They are Malaysia's first Denmark Open women's doubles finalists since Wong Pei Tty and Chin Eei Hui won in 2008.
- The final is scheduled for October 18 against a Japanese pair.
- The Malaysians are seeking their second title of the year after winning the Indonesia Masters.
- Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik also reached the final, while Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing lost in the mixed doubles semifinals.
