KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin's fairytale run at the China Open came to an end when he crashed out in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The 25-year-old men's singles, however, can take pride in his performance, as he dragged World No 6 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark to the deciding game before succumbing to a 22-20, 20-22, 21-7 defeat in a match that lasted an hour.
It has been Iskandar's best-ever showing at a Super Series, and he is expected to move up the world ranking when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) updates their list on Thursday.
The Malaysian is currently ranked No 33 in the world, a rung below professional shuttler Zulfadli Zulkiffli.
Jorgensen, will go on to play Rio Olympic Games champion Chen Long of China in the final on Sunday.
The second-seeded China shuttler had earlier seen off another Dane, Viktor Axelsen, 21-18, 9-21, 21-14 in the semi-finals.