The experienced world No 9 duo had to dig deep before overcoming the 17th ranked pair Amri Syahnawi-Nita Violina Marwah 15-21, 21-17, 21-17 at the Glaz Arena in Cesson-Sevigne, France in a match that lasted 58 minutes.

This is the Malaysian pair’s third victory against their rivals in as many encounters. They will take on the winners of the match between South Korean pair Chae Yoo Jung-Lee Jong Min or Alexander Dunn-Julie MacPherson of Scotland.

The married couple are still in the hunt for their first title this season after having qualified for two semi-finals and 10 quarter-finals so far.

Separately, world No 19 men’s doubles pair Wan Arif Wan Junaidi-Yap Roy King also advanced to the last 16 with a narrow win over French pair Adam Eloi-Rossi Leo.

The Macau Open champions won 21-19, 21-17 in a match that lasted 47 minutes. The pairs have now met each other three times with the Malaysians winning all the encounters.

They are expected to have a tough second round as they will meet China’s Xie Hao Nan-Zeng Wei Han or Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang.

In the women’s doubles first round match, Malaysian pair Carmen Ting-Ong Xin Yee toiled for 65 minutes against French pair Margot Lambert-Camille Pognante before losing 21-16, 14-21, 17-21 in a hard-fought match.