2025-09-11,KUALA LUMPUR

World No 2 Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah will adopt a cautious approach when they face world N0. 20 Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing in an all-Malaysian women's doubles quarter-final at the Hong Kong Open on Friday.

Defending champions Pearly-Thinaah admitted they were sluggish as they laboured past Indonesian scratch pair Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari 21-18, 21-17 in a 37-minute second-round clash on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Pei Kee-Mei Xing held their nerve to edge Taiwan's world No 23 Su Ya Ching-Sung Yu Hsun 21-19, 21-18 to book their place in the last eight.

"We are satisfied with our performance. Our movement was very slow, especially myself. So I hope to overcome this tomorrow," Pearly told Badminton World Federation.

"We don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves with targets and just want to focus on consistency."

Thinaah echoed her partner's concerns, admitting their lack of speed was a worry ahead of the quarter-final.

"I think my movement was also a bit slow in covering for each other and this is something we need to focus on," she said.

"We have to recover well and prepare for the next match.

"There were a lot of ups and downs in our performance and we want to be consistent and offer support when one is not in good condition. We have to keep going and keep learning."

World Championships silver medallists Pearly-Thinaah's decision to defend their title despite not being in ideal physical condition could leave them vulnerable against Pei Kee-Mei Xing, despite the back-up pair's lack of experience.

"We made many unforced errors at the World Championships and we wanted to improve in this tournament. This was our first meeting against the Taiwan pair and we are happy to reach the last eight," said Mei Xing.

"We've broken into the top 20 and now need to start beating the top 10 pairs if we are aiming for a bigger breakthrough in our career."

Pei Kee-Mei Xing face a Herculean task to upset Pearly-Thinaah, but a closer contest is expected on Friday given the senior pair's lack of pace and fitness.