The second-seeded Malaysians needed just 32 minutes to tame their opponents at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil here, setting up a quarter-final date against Australians Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu tomorrow.

Thinaah said they needed a bit of time to “warm up” as they last played competitively in the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, last month.

“We were excited to play in this tournament because we haven’t played in a while. We played at a slow tempo in the first game, but we increased our speed in the second game after communicating with each other and the coaches,” she said.

“We’re happy with this win. We have been trying new things, and we hope to keep improving in the coming matches.”

Pearly said she felt the pair have yet to regain their “ruthlessness” despite being ranked World No 13.

Pearly-Thinaah finished as runners-up in last year’s Malaysia Masters.

There was also good news in the mixed doubles when three national pairs – Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing – cleared their second-round hurdles.

Top seeds Tang Jie-Ee Wei took just 35 minutes to send India’s Sumeeth Reddy-Sikki Reddy packing 21-9, 21-15; Soon Huat-Shevon outlasted Taiwan’s Yang Po Hsuan-Hu Ling Fang 17-21, 21-19, 21-13; and Kian Meng-Pei Jing edged South Korea’s Wang Chan-Shin Seung Chan 15-21, 21-19, 21-19.

In tomorrow’s quarter-finals, Tang Jie-Ee Wei will meet teammates Kian Meng-Pei Jing while Soon Huat-Shevon will take on seventh-seeded Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto-Lisa Ayu Kusumawati of Indonesia.