KUALA LUMPUR: BAM coaching director, Rexy Mainaky, chose to remain optimistic despite Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah's early exit from the French Open yesterday (March 6).
The world No. 15 suffered a disappointing 18-21, 21-16, 21-12 loss against China's world No. 5 pair, Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu, at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena in Paris.
In their previous visit to the French capital in 2022, Pearly-Thinaah clinched the Super 750 title, marking the pinnacle of their career, although it was at a different venue, the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.
Their title defence last year was thwarted due to Pearly's back injury.
The first-round exit at the French Open marked their third such exit in the last five World Tour tournaments.
While Pearly-Thinaah's recent form is worrying with only four months remaining before the Olympics, Rexy emphasised their promising performance against a formidable Chinese pair.
"Pearly-Thinaah are gradually regaining the confidence lost due to Pearly's injury setback," said Rexy.
"Their on-court rotation has significantly improved, and they're playing aggressively once more."
Rexy noted that their preparation was hindered by the Badminton Asia Team Championships, causing them to lose valuable training time.
"We'll work on building this progress. They're capable of much more, it's about rebuilding their lost confidence."
Their poor record against Chinese opponents also demands attention.
Their defeat to Shu Xian-Zheng Yu underlines their struggle against them, having yet to secure a victory in all three outings.
In the past 14 months, Pearly-Thinaah managed only four wins out of 11 encounters against five different Chinese pairs.
Next week at the All England, they could face yet another daunting challenge, with world No. 1 pair Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan awaiting them in the last 16.
They previously lost to the reigning world champions on two occasions.