Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik had to come from a game down before winning their Paris Olympics opening match, while Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah slumped to straight game defeat against the world number one pair.
Chia-Soh made a nervous against English pair Ben Lane-Sean Vendy where they conceded the opening game.
But the world number four pair bounced back to earn a 19-21, 21-16, 21-11 victory which puts them one foot in the quarter-finals.
Chia-Soh can seal their place in the last eight if they beat Canadian pair Adam Dong-Nyl Yakura on Sunday.
In the mixed doubles, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei also notched their first win at the Olympics when they beat Singapore pair Terry Hee-Jessica Tan 23-21, 21-12.
The Malaysians will seal their place in the knockout berth if they notch another victory against Americans Vinson Chiu-Jennie Gai on Sunday.
Tan-Thinaah, meanwhile, failed to beat China’s Chen Qing Chen-Jia Yi Fan and went down 17-21, 20-22.
The world number 13 faces a do-or-die clash against Japanese pair Mayu Matsumoto-Wakana Nagahara on Sunday.
In the men’s singles, Lee Zii Jia will play Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasinghe on Sunday.
