Wei, winner of a bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, struggled early on as he lost the first game against the fifth seed before he launched a comeback to progress by virtue of a 15-21, 25-23, 21-18 triumph.

Second seed Ihsan Maul Mustofa was also taken to three games but he was unable to get past Zhao Jun Peng of China as he crashed out with a surprise 22-24, 21-16, 21-15 defeat.

The top players continued to fall as India’s Ajay Jayaram, seeded third, was also on the end of a shock loss to Shi Yuqi.

The Chinese player dominated proceedings from the outset and proved far too strong for Jayaram, eventually sealing a 21-12, 21-10 success.

China’s Huang Yuxiang did not fall to the curse of the seeds, however, as he prolonged his stay at the tournament by beating Muhammad B Pangisthu of Indonesia in straight games, 21-16, 21-9.

Today’s results mean China have three of the four semi-finalists in the competition.

Huang will face top seeded Wei in the semi-finals, while Shi will go up against Zhao.

In the women’s singles competition, the top players enjoyed a much more comfortable outing, with number one seed Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand among those to book their place in the last four.

The 20-year-old, a double Southeast Asian Games gold medallist and Summer Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist at Nanjing 2014, defeated South Korean Jang Mi Lee 21-14, 21-11.

She was joined in the next round by team-mate Nichaon Jindapon, who defeated Ayumi Mine of Japan, seeded sixth, 21-11, 21-17.

The Thai duo remain on course for a meeting in the final as Ongbumrungpan will go up against compatriot Pornpawee Chochuwong, who overcame Hana Ramadhini 21-8, 21-15.

Jindapon’s semi-final opponent will be Malaysian eighth seed Jin Wei Goh after she swept aside Gao Fangjie of China 21-16, 21-18.