The latest blow came when Jun Hao, ranked world No 22, slumped in three games to India’s S Subramaniam, ranked world No 65, in a match lasting 72 minutes in Saarbrucken.

Jun Hao, 26, who is going through the worst season of his career, lost 14-21, 21-18, 16-21 to the 21-year-old former world junior champion.

It was his second defeat in as many encounters against Subramaniam.

Before this, Jun Hao had lost in the first rounds of the French Open, the Denmark Open, the Korea Open, the Japan Open, the Malaysia Masters, the Badminton Asia Championships, the All England Championships, the Indonesia Masters, and the Malaysia Open.

He is not in the running for the lucrative season-ending World Tour Finals to be played in Hangzhou, China, in December.

With only eight players qualifying in each category, and five tournaments to go, he is No 26 in the current standings.

Malaysia will not have a representative in both the men’s and women’s singles categories, but are likely to feature in the men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles events.