PETALING JAYA: Women doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (pic) have broken into the world’s top four, but the climb to the very summit is proving tougher than ever as fierce rivals continue to test their mettle.

Their latest threat comes from the Chinese pair Jia Yifan, world champion and Paris Olympic gold medallist, who has now teamed up with Zhang Shuxian.

Although they have only been paired for about seven months, they have quickly established themselves as formidable rivals to Pearly-Thinaah.

Pearly-Thinaah, ranked fourth currently, came close to defeating the Chinese pair in the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open on Thursday but still fall short, losing 21-14, 22-24, 14-21.

It was Pearly-Thinaah’s third straight defeat to the Chinese pair in four meetings so far, including losses at the Malaysian Masters last week and the Orleans Masters in March.

Their only win came in their first encounter at the Indian Open in January, but that victory was handed to them after Shuxian was forced to retire due to injury.

“I think it’s quite sad and disappointing that we lost, especially since we didn’t take the opportunity in the second game after catching up. But overall, I think we’ve been doing quite well,” said Thinaah.

“We just need to keep supporting and motivating each other. Moving forward, we’ll stay focused and prepare for the next tournament.”

In the past, Pearly-Thinaah also found it tough going against Yifan and her original partner Chen Qingchen, suffering eight defeats in nine meetings.

The Chinese pair had even ended their hopes of reaching the final at the Paris Olympics last August.

There was some redemption last week, though, when Pearly-Thinaah overcame Qingchen and her new partner Wang Tingge at the Thailand Open.

But Yifan-Shuxian aren’t the only Chinese pair posing a threat. World No. 1 duo Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning have also proven to be a major obstacle. Still, the most daunting opponents remain Japan’s Chiharu Shida-Nami Matsuyama, who hold a dominant 13-1 record over the Malaysians.

Therefore, Pearly-Thinaah will need to work even harder if they are to establish themselves as one of the most feared women’s pairs in the world.

Their next stop is the Indonesian Open in Jakarta, where they will open their campaign against Taiwan’s Teng Chun-hsun and Yang Chu-yun in the first round.