The Indian pair, formerly ranked world No 1, are playing in their first BWF tournament after a three-month break following their disappointing Olympic run in Paris last year. They took 48 minutes to defeat their Malaysian rivals.

Yew Sin-Ee Yi fought hard in a pulsating first game, even having two match points in hand, but lost to their more experienced opponents. In the second game, the Indian pair took complete control to win with relative ease.

The Malaysian pair, ranked 24th in the world, did not show any sign of fatigue from having played two tough earlier matches, both of which stretched to three long games.

In the opening round, they created a major upset when they came from behind to beat Indonesia’s world No 4 pair Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto 15-21, 21-17, 21-13.

In the second round yesterday, they defeated South Korea’s Kang Min Nyuk-Jin Yong 23-21, 16-21, 21-18 in a match that lasted 68 minutes.

Satwiksairaj-Chirag will play South Korean pair Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae in the semi-final tomorrow.