The Paris Olympics bronze medallists, however, had to fight hard for 49 minutes before securing victory to enter the second round of the badminton championship.

The win was the third time Aaron-Wooi Yik had beaten the Japanese pair after previous victories at the 2024 India Open and the 2024 Asian Badminton Championships.

Aaron admitted that they were rusty after a long period without a competitive match and had to persevere to find their rhythm.

“I think we have been away from tournament play for a long time. Of course, we can say that we have the experience but it’s been a really long time since we were on the court, and there are still a lot of things to get used to again.

“In the first game, there was a bit of distance between us and our opponent… it did not work out well,” he said in an audio recording shared by Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Wooi Yik, who is recovering from a broken toe injury, said a change of strategy in the second game sealed their victory.

“I think we had more variety in the second game. We tried to be patient and it worked. Actually, (after) the first few points in the second game, we just continued with our rhythm,” he said.

In the second round tomorrow, Aaron and Wooi Yik will meet either fellow countrymen Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun or Callum Hemming-Ethan Van Leeuwen of England.

Meanwhile, the national mixed doubles pair of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai lost 21-9, 22-24, 10-24 to Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue from France.