Men's doubles Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani got off to a flying start at the Denmark Open yesterday.
Fresh from their recent Thomas Cup outing in Aarhus, the world No 26 checked into the second round in Odense with a convincing 21-18, 21-11 win over India's Manu Attri-B. Sumeeth Reddy.
"We're definitely still riding high on the momentum of the Thomas Cup," said Izzuddin yesterday.
"So we want to make the best of it here in Europe.
"If we can reach the semi-finals, it will be a huge confidence boost for us."
Despite only featuring twice (against Canada and Japan) at last week's Thomas Cup, Sze Fei-Izzuddin did not look rusty at all.
Malaysia, who fielded a young team for the Thomas Cup with an average age of 23, achieved the quarter-final target set by the BA of Malaysia (BAM) before losing 3-0 to eventual champions Indonesia.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin, who have not played in an Open tournament since their first-round exit at the Swiss Open in March, will take on another Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty in the second round.
In the women's doubles first round, the scratch pairing of Olympian Lee Meng Yean and Yap Chen Wen failed to make an impact.
The two, who were paired up after the Tokyo Olympics following the departure of their respective former partners — Chow Mei Kuan and Vivian Hoo from the national squad, fell 21-12, 21-15 to Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard-Nuntakarn Aimsaard.
The second half of first-round matches will continue today.