Top seed Marin made light work of her Japanese opponent, advancing to the last four of the tournament by claiming a 21-7, 21-18 victory at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon.

The Spaniard will take on fourth seed Tai Tzu Ying, who beat Aya Ohori of Japan 21-9, 21-14, in the next round.

“It was a really tough one, but I gave a good performance today, and I’m happy with that,” said last defending champion Marin.

“I don’t want to think that I’m defending the title.

“I have to take it game by game.”

Marin remains on course for a rematch of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games women’s singles final as PV Sindhu, who was forced to settle for silver in the Brazilian city, also progressed.

The Indian player, who was welcomed home as a hero following her performance at the Games, safely negotiated the tough test provided by Singapore’s Xiaoyu Liang with a battling 21-17, 21-23, 21-18 triumph.

Sindhu’s next opponent will be Cheung Ngan Yi after the player from Hong Kong beat India’s Saina Nehwal, the fifth seed, 21-8, 18-21, 21-19.

In the men’s competition, top seed Jan Ø Jørgensen of Denmark earned a straight games victory over Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vi.

Jørgensen, who was pushed all the way by Hong Kong’s Wei Nan in the previous round, progressed thanks to a 21-19, 21-17 success.

The Dane, who was moved up to the top seeded position due to the withdrawals of Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei and China's Chen Long, the Olympic silver and gold medallists, will face Sameer Verma tomorrow.

Indian Verma beat Malaysia’s Wei Feng Chong 21-17, 23-21 to book his place in the semi-finals.

Action at the event, which offers qualification points for the BWF Superseries Finals in Dubai next month, continues tomorrow.