World No 4 Zii Jia, whose last triumph came in the Thailand Open last May and who was hoping to make amends for his inconsistent performances, went down 21-19, 21-13 to Yu Qi in 43 minutes at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.

Zii Jia, the 2021 All England champion, managed to give the 2018 World Championship silver medallist a stern fight in the opening game, but was out of sorts in the second, ending Malaysia’s challenge at the tournament.

The 24-year-old Zii Jia has now lost four of the five matches he has played against world No 12 Yu Qi.

Zii Jia advanced to the semifinals of the Super 1000 tournament after ousting rising Japanese star Kodai Naraoka 21-9, 10-21, 21-13 in the last eight yesterday, while Yu Qi disposed of compatriot Weng Hong Yang.

Zii Jia has endured a dismal campaign so far this year, having been knocked out in the first round of the season-opening Malaysia Open and then the second round in three other tournaments – the India Open, the Indonesia Masters and most recently the German Open.