KUALA LUMPUR: With a little luck, up-and-coming men's doubles Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik are confident of doing well at the French Open, which starts tomorrow.
The World Championships quarter-finalists, who were drawn against eighth seeds Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto in the opening round, will instead play another pair after the Indonesians withdrew.
When contacted in Paris, the duo, who are the national No 2, explained that while it was lucky to avoid Fajar-Rian in the first round, it did not affect their focus towards the tournament.
"Actually, we were prepared to face Fajar-Rian in the opening round but then they pulled out, we were quite surprised but perhaps this is what we call luck," said Aaron.
"To reach the top you must be ready to play against the best. Having said that, our path has opened up a little and we hope to use this opportunity well.
"Our target was always to reach the quarter-finals or even last four, even if we played the Indonesians first, so we will stick to that.
"Anything more would be a bonus," added Aaron.
Since their exploits at the world meet in July, the young Malaysian pair have done well by reaching three quarter-finals on the trot.
Meanwhile, in the same half of the draw are compatriots Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi.
The former national No 2 will open their campaign tomorrow against Taiwan's Liao Min Chun-Su Ching Heng.
The other Malaysian shuttlers who will take to court in the opening round are independent men's singles shuttler Liew Daren, women's doubles' Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean, and mixed doubles' Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie.
National No 3 mixed doubles duo, Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, were also supposed to play, but the pair withdrew, after Pei Jing's father passed away last week.