Pearly Tan

One of the best doubles players in the world, Malaysian badminton player Pearly Tan is building up to her Olympic debut with partner Thinaah Muralitharan. In 2021 the dynamic duo became the first Malaysian women’s doubles pair to claim a Super 300 title since Lee Meng Yean and Chow Mei Kuan in 2018 when they stormed to victory in the Swiss Open, and followed up their maiden World Tour title with victory in the French Open in 2022. Tan and Muralitharan then clinched the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham defeating England’s Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith 21-5, 21-8, and their string of impressive performances over the last year has seen the Malaysian pair storm to No 5 in the Women’s Doubles world rankings.

Tan and Muralitharan’s winning partnership reflects Malaysia’s unique multi-cultural society, with Tan being of Chinese decent and Muralitharan of ethnic Indian decent. The pair may have different cultural backgrounds, but they have mixed three languages to communicate successfully and have worked to build a world-beating team.
Born in Alor Setar, Tan’s father is a badminton coach who runs the Alor Setar Racquet Club (the club of national badminton stars Jacky Kok and Lee Zii Jia) and it was no surprise when she grew up with a passion for the sport. Tan entered the national team in 2013 and won her first BWF International Challenge/Series title (the Malaysia International) alongside Muralitharan in 2019.