All the pressure was on Axelsen to retain his world crown in front of the Danish crowd at the Royal Arena on Sunday (August 27).

But the reigning Olympic and world champion produced an error-strewn showing as Prannoy came from behind to complete a stunning 13-21, 21-15, 21-16 victory.

It was business as usual for Axelsen in the opening game as he responded well to whatever Prannoy threw at him to move ahead.

Prannoy continued to plug away and his persistence paid off as an increasing number of errors crept into Axelsen’s game.

After losing the second game, Axelsen looked to hit back in the decider as he moved 4-3 in front but he was unable to eradicate mistakes.

Prannoy was holding firm, taking his chances when they came and sealed a surprise victory that silenced the Royal Arena when Axelsen went wide.

"Of course,  would have liked to be able to stand at the top of the stool - especially here at the World Championships on Danish soil," Axelsen told TV2 Sport.

"Yes, that's how it is.

"I am super disappointed by that.

"Mentally I was definitely not where I wanted to be.

"Of course, I am also influenced by the fact that I feel that I must win.

"The pressure on myself is of course the hardest.

"Yes, I don't know what to say.

"I lose to a better player, and of course I have to try to do better."

With Axelsen out, home hopes rested on the shoulders on Anders Antonsen as he faced Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto.

Antonsen could have buckled under pressure but he rose to the occasion, delivering an excellent performance to thrash Nishimoto 21-10, 21-7.

The Dane has been rewarded with a semi-final showdown with another Japanese star in Kodai Naraoka who has been in fantastic form in Copenhagen.

Naraoka suffered a blow to his eye but it was not enough to derail him as he motored to a 21-10, 21-19 triumph against China’s Shi Yuqi.

The other semi-final will see Prannoy take on last year’s finalist Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.

Vitidsarn lost the first game against unseeded Chinese Taipei player Wang Tzu-wei before coming back firing to clinch a 21-18, 21-15, 21-13 victory.

The women’s singles quarter-final tussle between An Se-young of South Korea and Nozomi Okuhara of Japan had all the ingredients to be a memorable match and that’s how it turned out.

Okuhara, the former world number one who is back from injury, was on fire at the start of the clash as she took the first game.

An, the current world number one who is seeking her first world title, was under pressure but she responded in fine fashion, winning the next two games to complete a 16-21, 21-10, 21-11 victory.

The South Korean will next face reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei who defeated Wang Zhiyi 21-17, 21-12 in an all-Chinese quarter-final.

Three-time world champion Carolina Marín of Spain was impressive in her 21-16, 21-14 success against Chinese Taipei’s fourth seed Tai Tzu-ying.

Marín will now go up against Japan’s second seed Akane Yamaguchi who saw off Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-16, 21-18.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow.