Also advancing to the second round was national women’s singles shuttler K Letshanaa, who recorded a relatively easy win over her rival from India.

World No 2 Pearly-Thinaah beat lower-ranked Fan Ka Yan-Yau Mau Ying 21-14, 21-11 in just 30 minutes at the Olympics Sports Centre in Ningbo, China.

They will take on world No 12 pair Hsu Yin Hui-Lin Jhih Yun from Taiwan in the last 16 tomorrow.

Pearly-Thinaah are hoping to win a second title this year after having lifted the Indonesia Masters crown in January.

Letshanaa defeated higher-ranked Tanvi Sharma from India 21-19, 21-14 in 41 minutes and will face South Korea’s Sim Yu Jin, who is 18 places above her in world rankings, tomorrow.

However, it was heartache for Malaysia’s rising star Wong Ling Ching, who nearly ousted former world champion and world No 13 Pusarla Sindhu in the opening round today.

Ling Ching, ranked world No 38, stretched Pusarla to three games before losing 21-15, 11-21, 19-21 in a match lasting 67 minutes. Pusarla’s vast experience made the difference when the two were tied 19-19 in the rubber game.