KUALA LUMPUR: Asian junior champions Ahmad Redzuan Zulwaqqarizal-Low Zi Yu made a commanding start to their World Junior Championships campaign in Cairo on Tuesday.
The top seeds, fresh from helping Malaysia claim silver in the mixed team event on Sunday, needed just 16 minutes to dispatch Canada's Kyle Yatfung Le-Ying Jian 15-5, 15-9 in the second round.
Redzuan-Zi Yu, who received a first-round bye along with the other Malaysian pairs in action, advanced to the last 64 where they will face Brazil's Klecivan Silva-Laura Roviezzo.
The Malaysians carry strong title credentials after capturing the Asian junior crown in Yatsushiro, Japan, in July, ending the country's 19-year wait for the mixed doubles title.
Malaysia enjoyed a perfect day in the mixed doubles with all four combinations advancing to the third round.
Eleventh seeds Khairul Azlan Khashah-Nur Aina Maisarah had to dig deep after dropping the opening game before overcoming India's Yogansh Singh-Aanya Bisht 8-15, 15-6, 15-7.
They next face Australia's Ben Rambaud-Yanxi Liu.
Yusuf Iqbal-Leong Hwee Ling were also convincing in a 15-9, 15-7 victory over Canada's Pitousovanreath Roth-Emma Goyette.
A much tougher assignment awaits them in the last 64 against fourth seeds Filip Titěra-Amélie Maixnerová of the Czech Republic.
Twenty-second seeds Irfan Shazmir-Genevie Lim needed only 13 minutes to dispose of England's Yixiang Hou-Shraddha Gopalakrishnan 15-9, 15-6.
They will next take on Indonesia's Moses Andar Simanjuntak-Reya Azzahra Yulianti.
Malaysia's juniors entered the individual championships with confidence high following their runner-up finish in the Suhandinata Cup, with Redzuan-Zi Yu spearheading hopes of carrying that momentum into the individual event.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd