Angus Ng cruised into the Malaysia Masters semi-finals on Friday after he beat world number four Chou Tien Chen, who became the latest high-ranked badminton player to be eliminated.

The 28-year-old shuttler secured progression after an hour, having to recover after going down to his 32-year-old opponent from Taiwan in the first game 13-21. He went on to win the next two games 21-12 and 21-13.

Ng was error prone in the opening game, but recovered admirably with a clear strategy in the next two, which saw him dictate the net exchanges and bait Chou into unforced errors with powerful baseline drives.

This year's Malaysia Masters had lost some of its shine due to the absence of top-ranking shuttlers.

Japan's defending champion Kento Momota crashed out on Thursday after a straight game loss against compatriot Kanta Tsuneyama, while world number one Viktor Axelsen pulled out citing a need to "rest and recharge" after winning last week's Malaysia Open.

The 13th-ranked Ng said Axelsen's absence made the men's singles competition more open.

"I cannot take anything for granted, as the rest of the competitors are strong. I will prepare the best way possible and hope it goes my way tomorrow," he said.

Ng will contest the semis against India's HS Prannoy, while Lu Guangzu of China takes on Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in the other match-up.

The women's singles saw top-seeded Japanese player Akane Yamaguchi sent packing after she was upstaged 25-23 15-21 21-10 by Indonesian Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. (AFP)