BIRMINGHAM, England, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Shi Yuqi of China beat Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in straight sets to reach the last four at the All England Open badminton championships here on Friday.

As the only Chinese player to remain in the men's singles draw, Shi, the second seed, took 37 minutes to rout the world number 10 21-14, 21-7.

The 23-year-old will next take on the winner between former world champion Viktor Axelsen or Jan O Jorgensen, who will play on Friday evening in an all-Danish affair.

Shi said he had not felt the much pressure from Tsuneyama, who shocked six-time champion Lin Dan in the first round.

"I didn't think too much before the match," he said. "Everybody has his chance once he has come here. I just told myself to try my best."

He added the his teammate and super star Lin Dan didn't give any advice on how to deal with the Japanese opponent.

"I played a different style from Lin Dan so I just need to play my best."

Shi was the champion last year by beating Lin Dan in the final. He also finished runner-up in 2017, losing to Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei.