Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon bowed out of the China Open badminton tournament following a straight-sets defeat in her semi-final against Akane Yamaguchi on Saturday.
The fifth-seeded Japanese needed just 42 minutes to dispatch her eighth-seeded Thai rival 21-14, 21-18 at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center in Fuzhou.
Ratchanok, who defeated Yamaguchi to win the Denmark Open earlier this year, had upset world No.1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan on Friday to reach the semi-final.
The 2013 world champion, Ratchanok has made a solid return to form this year, with victories in three Grand Prix Gold tournaments in Thailand, New Zealand and Denmark. As a result, she has improved her world ranking from ninth to sixth.