Man Wei Chong and Soh Wooi Yik showed plenty of fighting spirit at the Korea Masters, coming from a game down to secure a crucial first-round victory in their latest outing as a scratch pairing.
The Malaysians overcame Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa-Yuto Nakashizu 12-21, 21-17, 21-12 in 54 minutes to book their place in the last 16.
The victory was particularly important for the reshuffled duo, who were facing the prospect of another early exit after struggling to find consistency since being paired together.
Their partnership is part of national doubles head coach Herry IP's decision to split established pairs and experiment with new combinations. Wei Chong and Wooi Yik had previously managed only one win together at the China Open, where they defeated another Malaysian scratch pairing.
Despite a slow start against the Japanese duo, the Malaysians gradually found their rhythm and turned the match around to keep their Korea Masters campaign alive.
They now face a favourable opportunity to reach the quarter-finals when they meet Singapore's Nge Joo Jie and Donovan Willard Wee, ranked 676th in the world.
Elsewhere, Tee Kai Wun and Yap Roy King also survived a tough opening match, beating Singapore's Terry Hee and Wesley Koh 18-21, 21-17, 21-16. They will next face South Korea's Jin Yong and Lee Jong Min.
Independent pair Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong also advanced after edging fellow Malaysians Wan Arif Junaidi and Kang Khai Xing 21-16, 13-21, 22-20 in a closely fought contest. Their next opponents are Taiwan's He Zhe Wei and Huang Jui Hsuan.
Taiwan Open runners-up Aaron Chia and Aaron Tai are also set to begin their campaign against India's Bhargav Ram and Viswa Tej. Should they advance, they could face the experienced combination of South Korea's Choi Sol Gyu and Malaysia's Goh V Shem.
In the women's doubles, Cheng Su Hui and Chong Jie Yu survived a thriller against Vietnam's Pham Thi Diu Ly and Pham Thi Kanh, winning 21-16, 20-22, 23-21.
The Malaysian pair will next meet Taiwan's Lin Chih Chun and Yang Chu Yun.
However, the newly formed partnership of Vanessa Ng and Tan Zhing Yi was unable to progress, losing 21-12, 21-16 to China's Bao Li Jing and Cao Zi Han.
Young Malaysians Low Zi Yu and Noraqilah Maisarah Ramdan will begin their campaign against South Korea's Moon In Seo and Park Se Ul.
For Wei Chong and Wooi Yik, however, the focus is now on building on their hard-earned comeback. After several disappointing early exits, another win could provide the confidence the experimental pairing needs to make a deeper run in Korea.
