KUALA LUMPUR: The darlings of Malaysian badminton, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, continue to push the envelope.
To better themselves, the world No. 9 women's doubles have been sparring with 2006 Asian Games gold medallist and former world No. 1 men's doubles shuttler Tan Boon Heong in the last few weeks.
Pearly-Thinaah have proved that female shuttlers can rival their male counterparts when it comes to playing exciting badminton.
Now with Boon Heong as one of their mentors, it can only get better for the duo.
Thinaah said today: "Of course, sparring with Boon Heong is a great boost for Pearly and I.
"His gameplay, strategy and trick shots are superb. It can do a lot for us in our game.
"There is no fixed time in sparring with Boon Heong. He comes by every now and then."
It is learnt that Boon Heong will try to commit to two sessions every week.
Pearly-Thinaah clinched their maiden Super 750 title at the French Open in October. They reached a career high world No. 8 ranking this month, and also qualified for the season-ending World Tour Finals in Bangkok on Dec 7 to 11.
On where they see themselves next, Thinaah said: "There won't be much of a break for us because after the World Tour Finals, we will need to prepare for the Malaysia Open in January.
"Next year is going to be another hectic season. We want to reach for the stars, but for now, we want to take it one step at time."