A youthful Malaysian team succumbed to a 1-4 defeat to Japan to finish as Group D runners-up.

Skipper, Lee Zii Jia fought his heart out in an 80-minute battle against world No. 1 Kento Momota 21-15 12-21 21-23 at the Ceres Arena, Aarhus.

Japan's first doubles, Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi then doubled the lead through a 21-13 21-13 win over Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists.

In the second singles, world No. 70 Cheam June Wei lost to world No. 13 Kanta Tsuneyama 20-22 13-21 to seal victory for Japan.

The scratch pair of Akira Yoga-Yuta Watanabe made it 4-0 through a 21-10 21-16 win over Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani.

World No. 120 and the 2017 Asian Junior champion, Leong Jun Hao then salvaged a point through a morale-boosting 21-19 21-18 win over world No. 16 Kenta Nishimoto.

Malaysia will next face top seeds and traditional rivals, Indonesia in the quarter-finals tomorrow.