KUALA LUMPUR: Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi pulled off a stunning comeback to defeat former World No. 1 pair Fajar Alfian-Rian Ardianto of Indonesia, advancing to the semi-finals of the China Open in Changzhou today.
World No. 23 Yew Sin-Ee Yi fought back after a slow start to secure a 14-21, 21-17, 21-14 victory in a hard-fought 58-minute clash.
Their win ensures that Malaysia will be represented by three independent pairs in tomorrow's semi-finals at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium.
Joining Yew Sin-Ee Yi in the last four are men's doubles Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani and mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai.
The quarter-final victory marked Yew Sin-Ee Yi's best result this year, breaking a run of five consecutive early exits in World Tour events.
They will face either Denmark's second seeds Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen or China's He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu for a spot in the final tomorrow.
Sze Fei-Izzuddin, meanwhile, take on Muhammad Shohibul Fikri-Daniel Marthin in the other semi-final.
Yew Sin said the victory comes at a crucial time as their ranking, performance, and confidence had taken a dip recently.
"This result is good for our ranking, confidence, and overall gameplay. Although it was a tight game, we stayed focused and managed to come out on top."
Fajar-Rian, the reigning All England champions, are known for their attacking style, but Yew Sin-Ee Yi countered with solid defence, turning the match around after dropping the first game.
Ee Yi added that they had to be more aggressive in the third game to overcome their experienced Indonesian opponents.
"It means a lot to me, especially since I've been carrying an injury and am not fully recovered. Win or lose, I didn't want to focus on the injury, I just wanted to give it my all," said Ee Yi.
"We were pleased with our defence, but we knew we couldn't rely on that alone. We had to push harder and play more aggressively to get the win."
Yew Sin-Ee Yi now aim to recover in time to continue their remarkable run in the Super 1000 event.