Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are the last national representatives standing at the French Open after the men’s doubles pair checked into the semi-finals with a hard-earned victory over India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty.

The Malaysians battled for an hour before overcoming their fifth-seeded opponents 18-21, 21-18, 21-17 to book a showdown against South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun-Shin Baek-cheol for a place in the final.

The victory came as a massive morale booster for the Tokyo Olympics podium finishers, who were a shadow of themselves at the Thomas Cup and last week’s Denmark Open which saw them exit in the second round.

While Chia-Soh prevailed, the rest of the national contingent all saw their challenges come to an end after straight-game losses to their respective opponents.

Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi were no match for top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo after they lost 13-21, 20-22 in 26 minutes.

Veteran mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying were also upstaged 10-21, 17-21 to Denmark Open champions Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino in 37-minutes, while top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai 21-14, 21-10.

“Disappointed with our loss to the number one seeds today. It wasn’t our best and there is no denying there are areas we need to put more effort and work on,” lamented Lai after the defeat.

Quarterfinals action at the Stade Pierre De Coubertin in Paris as Chan/Goh ?? meet Watanabe/Higashino ??.#BWFWorldTour #FrenchOpen2021 #RaiseARacket? pic.twitter.com/OdNmdhmVi7

— BWF (@bwfmedia) October 29, 2021

In the men’s singles, Kento Momota marched into the semis after overcoming Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 21-19, 21-11 to set-up a clash against team-mate Kanta Tsuneyama.

Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen will play South Korea’s Heo Kwang-hee in the other match.

In the women’s singles, P.V.Sindhu will play Sayaka Takahashi, while Akane Yamaguchi faces An Se-young in a repeat of the Denmark Open final.