Shi Yuqi is currently going through a poor spell. He was eliminated early in both the Thailand Open and the Singapore Open, and in his home country, he is being criticized for his inconsistent form.
At the Istora Senayan, the iconic badminton arena in Jakarta, Shi Yuqi was also far from his best and lost very surprisingly to the World No.21, the Japanese Yushi Tanaka 16-21, 11-21 in the Round of 16.
Shi Yuqi is still ranked as No.1 in the world, but his ability to maintain that ranking is largely due to the equally disappointing performance of the chasing stars, such as Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Anders Antonsen.
In the women's singles, China's current World No.2, Wang Zhiyi, also had a night to forget as she crashed out of the tournament following a very surprising defeat to Sim Yu Jin of South Korea with a score of 16-21, 22-24.
To make a miserable Chinese day complete, Li Shifeng, the seventh seed, was defeated by Thailand's Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul in the second round. Li had even won the first set, but Teeraratsakul launched a terrific comeback to win the next two sets 6-21, 12-21.