Badminton appears to have a new world record for the longest rally in competitive play after an epic 211-shot rally between Malaysian athletes Thinaah Muralitharan and Pearly Tan and Japan's Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto.
The rally took place during the final set of their doubles match on Thursday, May 25 at the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament. Muralitharan and Tan had the lead at the moment the rally began, and it lasted for over three minutes straight.
Watch below — there are several moments where you think it will end, but then someone pulls out an amazing recovery shot! Here's the Badminton World Federation clip...
Sit back, relax and enjoy this monumental rally 🤯🏸!@HSBC_Sport#HSBCbadminton #BWFWorldTour #MalaysiaMasters2023 pic.twitter.com/o0Anh10ACGMay 25, 2023
Thursday's rally is now being reported as having broken the record for the longest badminton rally in competitive play. The previous record-setting display—which lasted 195 shots—was produced at last year's Korea Open during another women's doubles match between South Korea's Baek Ha-na and Lee Yu-rim and China's Du Yue and Li Wenmei.
Pearly Tan ultimately brought the exchange to an end with a deft drop shot which Ayako Sakuramoto was unable to return. Tan and Muralitharan (who are ranked 11th in the world) went on to seal the deal and win the match with a 21-17, 18-21, 21-19 victory.
Muralitharan and Tan's reactions to the epic rally were shared in an article for The Guardian. "Winning the rally felt like winning the match. I also thought that we won after surviving the rally", Muralitharan said. "I was too excited that it was finally over because it was exhausting and we just wanted it to end fast.
"When it was over, I really needed a break and I threw the racket as collecting it from the ground gave me some time to rest", she added.
Tan chimed in: "We knew we were tired but the opponent was tired too. In our minds we wanted to win that shot, so we just mentally prepared ourselves very well and I'm so happy we won the point."
Tan and Muralitharan advance to face South Korea's Kim Hye-jeong and Jeong Na-eun in the Semi-Finals on Saturday, May 27 at 1.30 am ET/6.30 am UK time.
The Malaysia Masters 2023 tournament continues through to Sunday, May 28.
