* Image Credit The Indian Express
Asian shuttlers continued to hold their own against the rest with remarkable performances to reach the quarter-finals in the on-going World Championships in Nanjing, China.
Only Denmark, led by their reigning world champion Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles and Mads Conrad-Petersen-Mads Pieler Kolding in the men's doubles and England's husband and wife team of Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock in the mixed doubles, remain in the hunt.
In the women's singles, Spain's Carolina Marin is the lone flag bearer in the event.
Current world number one and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei led the Asian charge in the women's singles and ousted China-born Zhang Beiwen with a crafty 21-19, 21-4 win in the third round on Thursday. She plays China's rising start He Bingjiao.
Defending champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, coming through after a long break because of injury, made through with a 23-21, 21-13 win over Malaysia's former world junior champion Goh Jin Wei after checking the Malaysian's early resistance.
Marin beat Japan's Sayaka Sato 21-7, 21-13 and will India's former world number one Saina Nehwal for a place in Saturday's semi-finals.
Nehwal ousted Thailand's former world champion Ratchanok Intanon 21-16, 21-19.
India also has another representative in the women's singles – Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu. tip-toed into the quarter with a 21-10, 21-18 win over Korean ninth seed Sung Ji-hyun.
Malaysia's independent shuttler Daren Liew continued with his fairytale run in Nanjing in the men's singles when he upset India's fifth seed K. Srikanth 21-18, 21-18.
He will face Japan's Kenta Tsuneyama, 21-17, 21-15 winner over Frenchman Brice Leverdez, in the quarters.
In all-China third round match five-time world champion and two-time Olympics gold medallist, Lin Dan was shown the exit by compatriot and All-England champion Shi Yuqi who won 21-15, 21-9.
China's Olympics champion Chen Long remained in the hunt after a hard-fought 21-18, 21-19 win against Japan's Kenta Nishimoto.
Axelsen was also lucky to scrape through against a gritty Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong China with a 21-18, 21-19 win. The Dane will face Chen Long in the quarter-finals.
Kento Momota, winner of the recent Indonesia Open, will play India's B. Sai Praneeth.
Momota was fully stretched but still had enough firepower to beat Denmark's Anders Antonsen 13-21, 21-17, 21-8 in a 73-minute match while Praneeth ended another challenge by a Dane with a 21-13, 21-11 win.
