{
  "id": 10120737,
  "title": "Pearly-Thinaah through to Asian Games semis, assured of medal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/pearly-thinaah-through-to-asian-games-semis-assured-of-medal",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-27T02:08:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2026/09/27/pearly-thinaah-through-to-asian-games-semis-assured-of-medal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Pearly Tan-M Thinaah advanced to the Asian Games semi-finals after defeating the top Indian pair, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, 21-18, 21-9 in 40 minutes. This accomplishment secures Malaysia a bronze medal in badminton, as semi-finalists are placed third in the championship. Malaysia's last badminton medal was when Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei won bronze at the 2014 games. Pearly-Thinaah, ranked fifth, has won all their Asian Games matches so far in straight sets. They have previously defeated the Indian duo seven times in nine encounters. The Malaysian pair will face China's top seed and world No 1 pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning in the semi-finals, who eliminated top Taiwanese pair Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung Tzu En in the quarter-finals. In the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, Pearly-Thinaah was eliminated at the quarter-final stage. Meanwhile, Malaysia's national men's doubles pair, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, will play their quarter-final match later against China's world No 3 pair Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang.",
  "summary": "The world No 5 pair end Malaysia’s 12-year wait for an Asian Games medal in the women’s doubles event.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Pearly-Thinaah through to Asian Games semis, assured of medal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/pearly-thinaah-through-to-asian-games-semis-assured-of-medal-10121419",
        "published": "2026-09-27T02:08:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}