World No 7 Zii Jia fell 21-16, 21-17 to Thailand’s world No 8 Kunlavut Vitidsarn while world No 32 Jun Hao lost 21-11, 21-12 to China’s world No 4 Li Shifeng.

However, Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing kept Malaysia’s title hopes alive in Jakarta after advancing to the semi-finals of the mixed doubles competition with a 21-8, 21-19 result against the South Korean world No 5 pair of Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun.

Zii Jia took a 5-2 lead against his Thai opponent at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Indoor Stadium and extended his advantage to 10-5 before Kunlavut shifted gears and tied the game at 14-14, going on to win the next three points for a 17-14 lead.

Although Zii Jia clawed back to 17-16, that was the closest the 2021 All England champion would get to Kunlavut, who won the next four points to clinch the game.

In the second game, Kunlavut went ahead 5-2 and exchanged points with Zii Jia until 17-17, after which the Thai went on another four-point rally to book his berth in the semi-finals.

Kunlavut will face either Denmark’s world No 5 Anders Antonsen or India’s world No 14 Lakshya Sen for a place in the final.

Meanwhile, Li will face countryman Shi Yu Qi in the last-four after world No 2 Shi beat France’s world No 23 Toma Junior Popov 17-21, 21-10, 21-18.

Li took a 7-2 cushion early in the first game against Jun Hao and built his lead to 10-4 before Jun Hao cut the deficit to 11-8. However, Li then went on a three-point run to lead 14-8.

The reigning Asian Games champion, Li enjoyed a seven-point lead at 17-10, and although Jun Hao won the next point, Li went on a four-point streak to close out the game.

While Jun Hao went ahead 6-2 and 7-4 in the second game Li stormed back to tie the game at 7-7.

The scores were tied again at 9-9 and 12-12 before Li went on an unanswered nine-point run to end the match in style.

In the mixed doubles, Kian Meng-Pei Jing raced to a 8-0 lead in the first game against Kim and Jeong and displayed some superb power play and accuracy to wrap up the game in 15 minutes.

While the Malaysians went ahead 11-5 in the second game, the South Koreans maintained the pressure and were able to claw back to 17-16 before Kian Meng-Pei Jing won the next three points for a 20-16 advantage.

The South Koreans then went on a three-point rally to storm back to 20-19, but Kian Meng-Pei Jing kept their composure to seal the win.

Kian Meng-Pei Jing will face Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin for a place in the final after the Chinese duo beat compatriots Feng Yan Zhe-Huang Dong Ping 21-17, 11-21, 21-16 in their quarter-final tie.