Malaysia women’s doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah were crestfallen after they bowed out of the BWF World Championships quarter-finals following a 21-17, 17-21, 19-21 loss against their Chinese opponents.

The 76-minute battle against Zhang Shu Xian-Zheng Yu at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark, could have gone either way, but it was the Chinese who stayed firm to seal the win at the expense of the Malaysians.

“We are heartbroken and sad because we made a lot of the same mistakes when we were leading. I am angry with myself that we kept making the same mistakes to lose this match.

“We should not have lost, but it is a heartbreaking lesson for us,” lamented a tearful Tan.

Tan-Thinaah started off strongly and they were seamless in their execution of the first game to register the crucial lead, and looked on course for the semi-finals after gliding to a 12-6 advantage in the second game.

But Tan-Thinaah couldn’t maintain their rhythm and allowed the Chinese back into the game with their unforced errors.

The deciding game went point for point and once again Tan-Thinaah looked like they could cross the line with an 18-16 advantage, but the plucky Chinese never wilted and stormed back for the second time to book their semi-finals berth.

Thinaah was so crestfallen that she burst into tears as soon as Zhang-Zheng clinched the winning point, heartbroken that they had come within striking distance of earning a World Championships medal.

Meanwhile, mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also crashed out as they were given a 11-21, 11-21 humbling by Japan’s experienced pair Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino in 28 minutes.