KUALA LUMPUR: Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah had better buck up fast if they are to challenge for a podium finish at the Paris Olympics.
The world No. 13 women's pair bit the dust in the opening round of the Singapore Open, losing 21-10, 21-10 in just 35 minutes to China's world No. 3 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning on Tuesday.
While losing to superior and higher-ranked opponents is acceptable, it's the manner of the defeat that raises concern.
Moreover, Sheng Shu-Tan Ning are among the opponents they have beaten in the past.
As part of the Road to Gold programme, Pearly-Thinaah are currently receiving full backing in terms of tailored training and sports science.
With two months remaining before the Paris Games, they are expected to be reaching peak performance.
At last week's Malaysia Masters, although Pearly-Thinaah made it to the semi-finals, they went down rather tamely to world No. 23 Lee Yu Lim-Shin Seung Chan, who are not among the two South Korean pairs that qualified for the Olympics.
Pearly-Thinaah now have only the Indonesia Open next week to prove their worth as they will not be participating in any more tournaments before the Olympics.
Meanwhile, it was also the end of the road for professional duo Low Hang Yee-Ng Eng Cheong in the men's doubles.
They were beaten 21-16, 21-16 by China's Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi.