Beijing: Indonesia's world champions Liliyana Natsir and Nova Widianto secured semi-final spots in the badminton mixed doubles on Thursday, downing Thailand's Prapakamol Sudket and Thoungthongkam Saralee.
The top seeds were pushed in the second game of their quarter-final before overcoming the Thais 21-13, 21-19 to keep their medal chances alive.
The Indonesians are steeling themselves for a tough fight against China's fourth seeds He Hanbin and Yu Yang in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The Chinese fought off a ferocious challenge from Poland's Nadiezda Kostiuczyk and Robert Mateusiak before stumbling over the line 22-20, 23-21 in their quarter-final.
In a tense encounter, China were penalised one point after He moved into the net before Mateusiak had served, a ruling that brought thunderous boos from the crowd and agitated protests from both Chinese players.
He acknowledged afterwards that maintaining their cool was crucial in the high pressure match.
"Neither team wanted to lose, so the match turned on who could keep calm under pressure and last the distance," He said. "It was a very physical game and we worked hard to win point by point."
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