As the race for the title intensified, Malaysia’s remaining three representatives in the quarter-finals battled hard, with only one pair advancing to keep the nation’s hopes alive.

In the mixed doubles, world No. 12 pair Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie were edged out by France’s world No. 6 duo Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue in a closely contested three-game encounter (21-15, 18-21, 20-22).

World No. 2 pair Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah also saw their campaign come to an end after losing to Japan’s Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara (20-22, 16-21).

The seventh-seeded Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin Rumsani emerged as Malaysia’s sole semi-finalists after a convincing victory over India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan and Arjun Madathil Ramachandran (21-12, 21-10).

Sze Fei and Izzuddin were set to face reigning world No. 1 pair Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae of Korea for a place in the final.