With a return from Ma Long under the net in the decider, the Chinese pair lost 11-7, 11-13, 11-9, 9-11 and 12-10.

"At the end of the match, I moved back too far from the table to play a fine receiving, which granted our opponents a match point on 11-10, and for their winning score, we just got under control to lose the game," commented the 18-year-old Ma, who is making his debut in the Asiad and paired up with Guo Yan for the first time.

"Also we've been too much intimated by the tense of the game," he added.

His mixed doubles partner Guo Yan echoed: "We missed several chances to score and the cooperations between us has not yet well practised."

Lee Jong Woo and Lee Eun Hee will next pick Singapore's Yang Zi and Li Jia Wei, who knocked out the pair from Hong Kong, China, Li Ching and Tie Yana, 2-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-2.

The other pair of China Ma Lin and Wang Nan, with each being experienced and well-tuned to internationals, breezily took Hong Kong duo Ko Lai Chak and Zhang Rui 11-9, 11-9, 15-17, 11-5, to set up a semifinal matchup with South Korean duo Joo Sae Hyuk and Kim Kyung Ah, who beat Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih Yuan and Huang Yi Hua in straight sets.