But there was no hint of complacency ahead of the last match of their round-robin stage against Malaysia on Thursday and Saturday's semi-finals.

Coach Li Yongbo, with world champion Lin Dan at his side, told a news conference: "The game has not started yet".

Bad news for the Malaysians, who recovered from their opening-day defeat by England to beat Thailand on Tuesday but who can hardly expect much change from the Chinese.

That would leave the way open for England, who despite the Chinese defeat can still make the semis for the first time in the tournament's history by beating Thailand on Thursday.

Team manager Ian Wright told Reuters after Tuesday's defeat: "We are still very positive even after tonight".

In elite group action on Wednesday, unbeaten South Korea were playing Denmark and Indonesia were up against Hong Kong.

A total of 48 countries, split into six divisions, are taking part in the biennial event.