2026-05-05,KUALA LUMPUR

Rising women's doubles shuttler Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan admitted there remains a gap between her performance and that of the country's top pair, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, particularly in terms of maturity and experience on court.

Noraqilah, who partnered Low Zi Yu at the Uber Cup in Denmark, however said she is not burdened by expectations from fans who have begun comparing them following their impressive performances in the competition.

"We are still far from reaching Pearly-Thinaah's level. In terms of experience and style of play, they are clearly much more mature compared to us who are just coming up," she told reporters at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) in Bukit Kiara on Tuesday.

She said her main focus now is to consistently improve the quality of her game without dwelling too much on the pressure to match the credibility of the national number one pair.

When asked about the timeframe needed to reach the level of the senior pair, Noraqilah, known for her creative playing style, said she has not set any timeline but hopes to close the gap as soon as possible.

On her plans for the remainder of the season, she said breaking into the world's top 100 is the target that she has set as an initial stepping stone to building her profile on the international stage.

Noraqilah-Zi Yu began gaining attention in the badminton community after they pulled off a major upset by defeating the world No. 7 Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi of Japan 21-17, 12-21, 21-19 in a group stage match at the Uber Cup last week.