KUALA LUMPUR: Despite suffering another first round exit at the Malaysia Open, women's pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah still took away a lot of positives.
Among them was playing with more freedom, without having to worry about past injuries.
World No. 12 Pearly-Thinaah crashed out of the competition yesterday after losing 22-20, 21-15 to China's world No. 8 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil.
The former French Open champions also failed to clear the first round last year, and only went as far as the last 16 in 2022.
"They (Sheng Shu-Tan Ning) were more prepared strategically, which put us under a lot of pressure.
"They were also faster and more powerful than the last time we played them.
"That was the main reason we lost today," Pearly lamented in the post-match interview.
Thinaah, however, was quick to point out that despite the setback, the Malaysians were just happy to be back on court after a rough year.
"It's not a good start (to the season), but we had to start somewhere.
"The excitement to come back on court motivated us because we haven't played in a while.
"Frankly, we didn't really think too much about Olympic qualifying points because it's our home tournament, and we are just happy to be back," added Thinaah.
Pearly, who has been working hard to improve her physical condition in the last couple of months since the China Master in November, is hoping to have an injury-free season.
"For the longest time, I have been playing with injuries. Today, I got to bring out my game in the best condition; that is really positive."
Pearly-Thinaah, who reached a career-high world No. 5 last January, will play in the India Open next week.
Sheng Shu-Tan Ning will play compatriots Li Yi Jing-Luo Xu Min in the second round on Thursday.