It was perhaps the most emotional meltdown on view at the recent TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023. Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan, with a historic women’s doubles medal for Malaysia within their grasp in the quarterfinals, eventually fell in three games, and the hurt was evident in their unrestrained tears.

Now, a few days since that heartbreak, the Malaysians sought to draw what lessons they could.

“It took us a few days to recover,” said Pearly Tan, after clearing their first round hurdle at the VICTOR China Open 2023. “We were sad, but we had to get back and learn from our mistakes. We need to learn about the things we have to improve and not make the same mistakes.”

Their weakness, she said, was their inability to focus when they were ahead.

“When we had the lead, we didn’t focus enough and sometimes we were too clumsy. So we need to manage that situation well.”

How difficult was it to deal with the thought of having missed Malaysia’s first women’s doubles medal?

“The first few days were very difficult, but we managed to put it behind us because we have tournaments coming up,” said Muralitharan. “So we couldn’t put ourselves in that situation for too long. A few days later, we returned to training.

“We learned a lot after that loss, so we want to make sure we don’t repeat those mistakes again; we have to focus when we are leading and be more consistent.

“There were ups and downs the past week, so we want to put that in the past and focus on what’s ahead.”