More than three minutes passed without the steering wheel touching the ground. During this endless time, badminton will have shown all that it can offer the public as a variety of shots. Smash, cushioning, cleared at the bottom of the yard, bindings and cross defenses. Punctuated by a magnificent dive behind the net, this incredible exchange took place on May 25 during the Malaysian Masters on the occasion of the 8th final of the women's doubles between Thinaah Muralitharan and Pearly Tan (Malaysia) and the Japanese pair Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto.

211 RALLY SHOT! 🔥🔥🔥

What a rally lah from both team! Min tengok pun berpeluh 😵

💫😵 💫😵 💫Congrats Pearly Tan/ M Thinaah mara ke peringkat suku akhir!

Ikuti liputan penuh di Nadi Arena jam 7.30 Malam ini! pic.twitter.com/AVIzRkyJ9b

— ASTRO ARENA (@ASTROARENA) May 25, 2023

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While the score is 16-14 in the 3rd and last set, the public is witnessing a real rally between the two pairs ranked 11th and 19th in the world. After a 1'30, the commentator gets carried away. "It's unbelievable. I believe we will break the record for the longest exchange. The man at the microphone does not imagine that he has more than 1'30 left to enjoy this moment of history. With these 211 shots, it is certainly one of the longest exchanges in the history of this ultra-popular sport in Asia. Maybe even the longest in history. In April 2022, the Badminton World Federation spoke of a "record broken" after an exchange of 195 strokes played in Korea.

Exhausted but present until the final

"Winning this exchange was like winning the match," Thinaah Muralitharan said after the match, quoted by CNN. A rally from which his Japanese opponents will never recover, who will eventually concede a defeat a few minutes later on the tight score of 21-19. As for the Malaysians, they will find the resources to reach the final, losing in three sets against the world number two pair South Korea Ha Na Baek and So Hee Lee. But history will remember above all this extraordinary exchange.

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