Officials help Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand after she was injured during her last-16 match against Lindaweni Fanetri of Indonesia at the world championships in Jakarta yesterday.

Top seed Carolina Marin battled her way through injury to the quarterfinals of the world championships in Jakarta yesterday, while Olympic champion Li Xuerui was defeated in a day of upsets.

Li, twice runner up at badminton's premier event, became the highest-ranked casualty of the tournament thus far when Indian shuttler PV Sindhu stunned her in a marathon contest 21-17, 14-21, 21-17.

The devastated third seed was seeking revenge — and an elusive world crown — after Marin upstaged her at last year's worlds, but fans will now have to wait for that grudge rematch.

Xi's shock exit takes a load off Marin, but it was a day of mixed fortunes for the world No. 1 as she rolled her ankle during her third-round win over Taiwan's Pai Yu Po.

The injury-prone Spaniard fell to the ground in pain after an awkward stumble in the first set, with several tense minutes passing before she gingerly returned to the court to win 21-11, 18-21, 21-17.

Marin will undergo physiotherapy on her ankle, but it's an unwanted distraction as she seeks to defend her title less than a month after returning from injury.

Fifth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand was less fortunate, retiring mid-match against Lindaweni Fanetri after sustaining an injury. The Indonesian was trailing 24-26, 21-10, 5-8.

With Li out of the way and Marin under an injury cloud, second seed Saina Nehwal could pose a real threat for the top gong. The Indian shuttler progressed to the quarterfinals along with fellow seeded players Tai Tzu Ying, Wang Yihan, Wang Shixian and Sung Ji-hyun.

There were disappointments in the men's singles too, with third-seed Srikanth Kidambi crumbling against 13th seed Hu Yun of China's Hong Kong 21-14, 17-21, 21-23 in a match that lasted more than an hour.

Also, eighth seed Wang Zhengming of China fell to recently returned Malaysian Lee Chong Wei. Lee, unseeded for the first time in years after returning from an 8-month doping ban, swept to a 21-17, 21-19 victory.

World No. 1 and defending champion Chen Long thrashed Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-12, 21-7.

Five-time world champion Lin Dan defeated 12th seed Hans-Kristian Vittinghus with ruthless efficiency, Jan O Jorgensen put away ninth-seed Son Wan-ho of South Korea while fellow Dane Viktor Axelsen prevailed over India's HS Prannoy.

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