Aaron Tai and Kang Khai Xing gave their partnership a memorable boost after pulling off a superb comeback victory over China's world No. 8 pair Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi in the opening round of the Japan Open on Tuesday.
The world No. 22 Malaysians recovered from a difficult start to win 11-21, 26-24, 21-15 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, booking their place in the second round in what is their final tournament together before they split into new partnerships.
After losing the opening game comfortably, Aaron and Khai Xing showed remarkable resilience in the second, saving match points before edging it 26-24. They carried that momentum into the deciding game, where they took control to seal an impressive victory.
The win also served as revenge for their defeat to the same Chinese pair at the All England earlier this year and continued their reputation as giant killers. This season, they have also recorded notable victories over India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty at the All England, as well as Indonesia's Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani at the Singapore Open.
Aaron and Khai Xing will next face Taiwan's Lee Jhe Huei and Yang Po Hsuan for a place in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, Malaysia's world No. 6 pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani enjoyed a solid start to their campaign. The fifth seeds defeated China's Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Xiang Yi 22-20, 21-18 to progress to the second round.
Fresh from winning the Indonesia Open last month, Sze Fei and Izzuddin remain among the favourites for the Super 750 title. They will next meet either Japan's Keiichiro Matsui and Kenya Mitsuhashi or Denmark's Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
It was a tougher day for Malaysia's women's doubles pair Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting, who were knocked out in the opening round after a 21-12, 21-18 defeat to South Korea's world No. 3 duo Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee. The result marked their second loss to the Korean pair.
