Uber Cup: Meng Yean urges junior shuttlers to learn from Thinaah-Pearly's fighting spirit

Uber Cup captain Lee Meng Yean wants her junior team-mates to learn from M. Thinaah and Pearly Tan.

The world number 18 pair captured the hearts of Malaysians with an all-out performance at the Sudirman Cup.

Even though they lost all four matches at the Sudirman Cup, they were hailed as heroes after pushing Olympic champions Greysia Polli-Apriyani Rahayu in the quarter-finals, before giving Mayu Matsumoto-Misaki Matsutomo a run for their money in the semis.

“It was a good experience for Thinaah-Pearly, and I thought they were amazing as underdogs. I hope the juniors will learn a thing or two from their fighting spirit,” she said.

At 27, Lee is the oldest member of the team, and the most experienced shuttler having played with Chow Mei Kuan at the Tokyo Olympics.

Malaysia open their Group D account against host Denmark on October 9, before facing 14-time champions China a day later and Canada in their final group match on October 11.

Meanwhile, Thinaah said she and Tan would be raring to continue their high tempo performance at the upcoming Uber Cup.

“Our mindset at the Sudirman Cup was to go out and give our best. We played without fear and some fans even commented that we did not play like women!”

“Playing against the top pairs at the Sudirman Cup taught us a lot, and we hope to take that lessons into the Uber Cup,” she said.

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— Stadium Astro ? (@stadiumastro) October 5, 2021