Axelsen, who has won the Super 1000 event twice including last year, fell to a first-set loss against Lee Cheuk Yiu at Arena Birmingham.

The Hong Konger pulled off a surprise 21-19 result in the opening period but could not hold out for the remainder.

The world number one Dane rallied back to win the following sets 21-15, 21-11.

"I'm feeling pretty satisfied about how I played in the last two games especially," said Axelsen, who is looking to appear in a fifth straight final.

"Lee Cheuk Yiu is a tough opponent and today was a tough game for me, but I'm happy I was able to step up and win comfortably in the second and third game.

"I tried to step up the pace a little bit and I tried to control the rallies a little bit more.

"I was playing a little bit too slow and a little bit too cautious in the first game.

"I managed to turn it around.

"I've been doing really well here for many years so hopefully I can do well again this week."

Last year's runner-up Lakshya Sen of India also advanced as he defeated fifth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 21-18, 21-9 in a hotly anticipated fixture.

The shock of the day came courtesy of China's Zhao Jun Peng who stunned eighth seed and 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 21-16, 16-21, 21-7 in under an hour.

In the women's singles, 2019 individual champion Chen Yufei of China overcame a tough opening game against Michell Li.

The Canadian shuttler pushed her hard but Chen eventually prevailed 22-20, 21-14.

Yufei will play Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong next who knocked out two-time champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in a rematch of the 2021 final.

It took Chochuwong just 36 minutes to triumph 21-11, 21-15.

The action is set to continue tomorrow with play starting at 10am local time as Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia takes on Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand.