The world No 4 duo, who needed to win their final group tie in straight games to enter the last four, fell to South Korea’s world champions Kim Won Ho-Seo Seung Jae 23-25, 21-14, 19-21 in a match lasting 62 minutes.

They won only one of the three group matches and were placed third in Group A which means they won prize money of US$39,000 (RM159,443). The fourth placed pair Chiu Hsiang Chieh-Wang Chi Lin from Taiwan received US$21,000 (RM85,854).

Won Ho-Seung Jae, who topped the group, and runners-up Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Reza Pahlevi Isfahani from Indonesia are through to the last four of the RM12.5 million Super 1000 tournament.

Malaysia’s top doubles pair Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik will play their final match in Group B against India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Shirag Shetty later tonight. They must win in order to qualify for the semi-finals.