Bolstered by a vociferous home crowd, the defending champions took an unassailable 3-0 lead after winning the first three matches of the biennial mixed championship in Xiamen, China.

China took the first match with their mixed doubles pair Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping defeating Malaysian duo Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei 21-17, 21-17.

Malaysian men’s singles player Leong Jun Hao played the second match against China’s top player Shi Yu Qi.

The world No 1 won easily against Jun Hao, ranked No 26, with a score of 21-6, 21-14, giving China a 2-0 lead.

Women’s singles player K Letshanaa meanwhile went down 21-8, 21-6 against world No 7 Chen Yu Fei, dashing Malaysia’s hopes of repeating their semi-final appearance two years ago.

China has won the championship 13 times since its inception in 1989. South Korea has won four times and Indonesia once.