World No 7 and reigning All England champion Zii Jia disposed of Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark 21-15, 15-21, 21-10 after a 58-minute third round battle at the Palacio de los Deportes Carolina Marin.

His reward is a mouth-watering quarterfinal clash against another Dane, world No 3 Anders Antonsen, as he continues his quest for a first semifinal appearance at the world meet.

In the 2019 World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, Zii Jia crashed out in the quarterfinals, losing 21-12, 21-8 to Japanese Kento Momota.

“I am happy to get a win against Vittinghus … as usual a very tough match. Mentally, I dropped in the second game. But in the third game, I managed to pull away. I am not in the best shape … still happy to get into the quarterfinals.

“Antonsen is my good friend, he is a very good and matured player now … his performance is also more stable than mine. So the match will be tough, I have to prepare myself,” he told the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

Meanwhile, Soon Huat-Shevon also struggled to get past Yeung Ming Nok-Ng Tsz Yau of Hong Kong 21-8, 19-21, 21-19 in another third round tie to set up a tricky quarterfinal clash against Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand.

Two independent men’s pairs – Rio 2016 silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi – also progressed into the last eight earlier.