Pearly-Thinaah: Everyone knew who we were after the Paris Olympics

Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah in a recent interview admitted they became much more recognizable figures after making history by finishing fourth at the recent Paris Olympics.

The national women’s doubles shuttlers were on their way to peak form in Paris, and eventhough they missed out on a medal, won the hearts of millions of Malaysians watching back home.

They also made history by becoming the first Malaysian women's doubles pair to reach an Olympic semi-finals.

Since then, life outside the court has changed dramatically for the pair.

“More people started to recognize us. After a while everyone knew us and started looking forward to our matches. We were really happy to be back in Malaysia after the Olympics,” said the pair, who initially wanted to take a long break after the Olympics.

“It was quite hard to focus on court. We wanted a long break after Paris, and we told our coaches we wanted to take a month or two break. But we kept going because we wanted to build on the momentum and qualify for the World Tour Finals,” they added.

As it turned out, the decision to keep playing proved a masterstroke after the pair won the Hong Kong Open and finished second at the Korea & Arctic Open.

Those results have also elevated them back into the world top 10, which sees them currently in seventh spot.

But with continued success, so comes the sacrifices.

Tan-Thinaah expressed a longing to spend more time with their families.

Tan said she just wants to go home to her hometown in Alor Setar and spend time with her dog, while Thinaah was longing to have a short trip with her family.

The pair will have the chance to take a break as the World Tour takes a break for the top-tier events.

Tan-Thinaah are expected to take part at the Japan Masters next (November 12-17).