A file photo of China's Shi Yuqi hitting a shot in a men's singles match at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England. /VCG

Top-seeded Shi Yuqi of China defeated Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei 21-11, 21-19 at the All England Open Badminton Championships on Thursday, advancing to the men's singles quarterfinals in Birmingham, England.

Shi clinched the first game comfortably before building a quick 14-8 lead in the second. But the 35-year-old Chou then showed remarkable resilience, cutting the deficit to one point at 20-19.

After calming himself down, Shi scored two straight points including smashing a deal-sealing forehand to close out the victory. He will face Loh Kean Yew of Singapore next.

In other action, defending champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia was knocked out by Lakshya Sen of India in straight games. It took Sen just 36 minutes to end Christie's campaign 21-13, 21-10.

Sen's next opponent will be China's Li Shifeng, who gained a measure of revenge against Toma Junior Popov 21-18, 17-21, 21-15, after being eliminated by the Frenchman when they faced off at this event last year.