The world No 2 pair saved two match points in the first game before defeating 27th-ranked Hu Ke Yan-Lin Xiang Yi 22-20, 21-19 in 43 minutes to book a quarter-final berth at the Olympic Sports Centre in Ningbo, China.

This was their first encounter with the Chinese pair.

Aaron-Wooi Yik will face either South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk-Ki Dong Ju or Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi in the quarter-final tomorrow.

The two-time Olympic bronze medallists have yet to win a title this year after competing in five BWF championships so far. They were runners-up at the All England and Malaysia Open tournaments.

Reigning mixed doubles world champions Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei lifted the Malaysian camp’s spirits this morning by qualifying for the quarter-finals after most national representatives were eliminated in the first and second rounds.