The Belgians held off Americans Edwin Burik Mark and William Kolinske 32-30 in the first set on the way to a 2-0 victory that put them into the round of 16.

Koekelkoren and Walle squandered a five-point lead before clinching the opening set and going on to take the second 21-14.

“We survived by fighting hard and working hard,” said van Walle.

“I think we started well, but then at 16-11 we made some mistakes and they made some good blocks, and then we brought ourselves into trouble.

"You see those guys can also play very well and we made our lives difficult.”

Second seeds Pereira Jefferson Santos and Cherif Younousse of Qatar also progressed after beating Austria’s Florian Schnetzer and Daniel Mullner 21-15, 21-14.

Third seeds Nadir Diaz Gomez and Bayard Sergio Reynaldo of Cuba posted a comfortable 21-13, 21-16 win over Turkey’s Murat Giginoglu and Hasan Huseyin Mermer while Mexico’s fourth seeds Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros breezed past Kensuke Shoji and Yusuke Ishijima of Japan 21-15, 21-14.

In the women's event, April Ross and Kelly Claes of the United States crashed out of the tournament.

The Americans were considered favourites for the title but lost to Poland’s 30th seeds Kinga Kolosinska and Katarzyna Kociolek in the first round 21-19, 21-15.

Home favourites Wang Fan and Xia Xinyi got off to a winning start by beating Victoria Palmer and Jessica Grimson of England in straight sets.

Top-seeded Wang and Xia secured their place in the women’s last 16 with a 21-15, 21-12 victory.

The two other Chinese pairs both crashed out.

Wang Xinxin and Yuan Lvwen lost to Australia’s Louise Bawden and Jessyka Ngauamo 21-18, 21-14 while Cao Shuting and Zeng Jinjin were beaten by Germany’s Kim Behrens and Sandra Ittlinger 21-9, 21-15.