KUALA LUMPUR: The "Group of Death" at the World Tour Finals (WTF) has claimed its first victims — Malaysia's Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah.
The world No. 6 women's pair made an unexpected early exit in Hangzhou today following their 21-19, 21-19 loss to India's world No. 13 Treesa Jolly-Gayathri Gopichand.
Pearly-Thinaah's marathon 74-minute battle — which included an epic 138-shot rally — against Japanese Nami Matsuyama-Chiharu Shida a day earlier took its toll on them.
A spent Pearly-Thinaah, who lost their opening Group B match in three games, faced a must-win clash today, but they offered only token resistance to Treesa-Gayathri who went on to triumph in 46 minutes.
However, the outcome still came as a surprise as Pearly-Thinaah had entered the court with a 6-1 head-to-head record against Treesa-Gayathri.
The defeat shattered Pearly-Thinaah's hopes of reaching the WTF semi-finals for the first time after failing in the group stage in 2021 and 2022.
Their trademark fightback and solid defence were missing as Pearly-Thinaah appeared physically and mentally exhausted against the Indian pair.
National women's doubles coach Rosman Razak had indicated before the tournament that Pearly-Thinaah's physical condition will have a bearing on their chances in Hangzhou.
A demanding and strenuous season — the WTF was their 19th tournament of the year — has likely led to the Hangzhou setback.
Thinaah gave credit to Treesa-Gayathri's pressing game and said that they paid the price for following the Indian pair's rhythm.
"They were aggressive from the start, pressuring us with some good shots. I think we played to their strength and that cost us today," said Thinaah.
Pearly said they couldn't raise their game to match Treesa-Gayathri's aggression.
"Treesa-Gayathri pressed us with their speed and power, and we couldn't cope," she added.
Pearly-Thinaah can still exit the WTF with a bang if they upset China's world No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning in their final group match tomorrow.