For the second consecutive week, there are no Malaysians featuring in the finals on home soil after Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik lost their semi-final matches at the Malaysia Masters on Saturday.

Tan-Thinaah went down 10-21, 19-21 against top seeds Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan in the women’s doubles, before Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto beat Chia-Soh 21-14, 19-21, 21-10.

Tan-Thinaah deserved plaudits for their battling endeavors against their world number one opponents, especially in the second game where the Malaysian put everything on the line but fell just short.

“They pressured us well, and we struggled to keep up to their pace. The top 10 pairs are aggressive in their game. We need to try and match that and be more sustainable in the game,” the pair said.

With Tan-Thinaah out, the country’s hopes of witnessing at least one local pair in the final rested fully on the shoulders of Chia-Soh.

The world number six had crashed out against Malaysia Open champions Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi last week, and faced another in-form pair who had already made five finals this year.

The Malaysians did not start well, losing the first game but recovered well to edge a nail-biting second game.

The deciding game was all but over in five minutes as Chia-Soh headed into the interval trailing 2-11, before their misery ended shortly after.

“They are a top pair who are in such great form at this point, it was difficult to find flaws in their game. We won’t be discouraged, but look to analyze their game for future matches.

“We are still waiting for our breakthrough to win a first major title, but I don’t think we are too far away. Our results have not been too bad. Once we get the first win, the rest will follow,” they said.

This result means the wait for a local men’s doubles champion on home soil stretches on.

The last pair to win were Lim Kim Wah-Goh V Shem, who won the Malaysia Masters in 2013 and Malaysia Open a year later.

Meanwhile, Alfian-Ardianto would contest in their sixth final of the season as they face off against team-mates Hendra Setiawan-Mohammad Ahsan in the men's doubles final.