The world No 23, who had two easier matches before this against lower ranked compatriots, lost 20-22, 21-14, 20-22 to world No 4 Li Shi Feng in the quarter-final lasting 78 minutes at the Hong Kong Coliseum today.

This was Jun Hao’s sixth loss in their seven encounters so far.

It was a real heartbreak for Malaysian badminton fans to see Jun Hao losing the match after fighting so hard; he even had match point in hand in the rubber game, after leading all the way.

In the first round, Jun Hao defeated Lee Zii Jia who was playing just his second tournament since his return to competitive badminton after a five-month layoff due to an ankle injury.

In the last 16 yesterday, he laboured for more than an hour before beating Justin Hoh in three games.

His performance this season leaves Malaysia still searching for a consistent men’s singles contender at world level. It has been a disappointing year for the 25-year-old, who has failed to reach the semi-final stage in all the tournaments he entered this year.

Jun Hao was knocked out in the first round in six of the tournaments.

Separately, Malaysia’s challenge in the mixed doubles ended when Hoo Pang Ron-Cheng Su Yin lost to China’s world No 2 pair Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping in straight games.

The Chinese pair took only 33 minutes to defeat the 14th ranked Malaysians 21-16, 21-10. This was the third time the Malaysians have lost to Yan Zhe-Dong Ping in as many encounters.

With this, women shuttlers Pearly Tan-M Thinaah will be the sole Malaysian representatives at the semi-final stage tomorrow.

The defending champions are expected to have a tough time against China’s world No 4 pair Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian, who have beaten them four times out of their five encounters so far.

The Chinese duo beat them in straight games when they last met in the semi-final at the China Open in July.