Viktor Axelsen through as Carolina Marin, Loh Kean Yew bow out of Malaysia Open quarter-finals

Carolina Marin and Loh Kean Yew were two big-name quarter-final exits at badminton’s Malaysia Open on Friday (13 January).

Competing in the first World Tour event of the season, Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Marin went down 21-18, 21-19 to People’s Republic of China’s fourth seed Chen Yu Fei.

Things initially looked good for the Spaniard, who went up 0-4 early in the first game and was still in the lead at 6-10.

But Chen eventually found her rhythm, scoring eight unanswered points before closing out the opener on her second game point.

It was a case of deja vu in the second game, where Marin roared out of the blocks to take a 4-1 lead before being reeled in by her opponent.

The shuttlers were neck-and-neck at 16-16, but Marin will be kicking herself after edging into an 18-17 lead.

In the end Chen demonstrated superior accuracy on the big points, and clinched the two points she needed at 19-19 to progress to the semi-finals.

The Chinese player will take on People’s Republic of Korea second seed An Se-Young next.

Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew suffered a fourth-consecutive defeat by Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, going down 21-11, 20-22, 21-14 in the men’s singles quarters.

The Thai eighth seed took an 11-6 lead in the opening set, as Loh struggled to live with his pace.

Vitidsarn then showed off his superior defensive skills to repel Loh’s errant attacks, and closed out the first game.

It was a similar start to the second game, where the Southeast Asian Games champion opened up a 7-0 lead.

But fourth-seeded Loh eventually found success with his signature smash, and battled back to go 15-14 ahead.

After the lead exchanged hands a couple of times, Loh secured the second game.

Both players brought their best to an epic deciding set, with the points difference never beyond two, until Kunlavut pulled off a perfect drop shot to take an 11-8 lead.

Loh’s game began to falter and Kunlavut was able to book his place in the semi-finals, where he will meet Japan’s Naraoka Kodai.

• Kunlavut Vitidsarn: Things to know about Thailand's badminton sensation

In the final men's quarter-final, Olympic champion and No. 1 seed Viktor Axelsen beat Japan's Nishimoto Kenta 21-6, 21-12.

The Dane will lock horns with Nishimoto's compatriot Tsuneyama Kanta in the final four.

Elsewhere, women’s No.1 seed Yamaguchi Akane had too much power for Mia Blichfeldt, beating the Dane 21-12, 21-11.

The Japanese will take on Tai Tzu Ying in the semis, who won an all-Chinese Taipei clash against Hsu Wen Chi.