Bilqis Prasista, 18, saw off Japan's world champion 21-19, 21-19 in 35 minutes at Bangkok's Impact Arena.

But Japan roared back to beat the Indonesians 4-1 and tops Group A. Both teams have qualified for the quarterfinals of the women's Uber Cup.

"It's unbelievable. I could never imagine beating Akane Yamaguchi," Bilqis, 333^rd in the world rankings, said as quoted by AFP.

"I just wanted to make her run and chase the shuttle, so it was no fun for her. That was the key."

The teenager made her mark early, leaving Yamaguchi scoreless as she jumped into a four-point lead in the first game.

Yamaguchi briefly recovered but came unstuck in the face of lethal net shots and smashes from her gutsy opponent.

Yamaguchi grabbed an early six-point lead in the second game before Bilqis leveled the scores with a run of points, then inched to match point and a surprise victory. 

It was a hat trick of wins for Bilqis, who beat German Florentine Schoeffski and France's Yaelle Hoyaux in previous matches in the group stage. Indonesia collected two winning points after defeating France 5-0 on Sunday and another 5-0 against Germany on Tuesday.

A disappointed Yamaguchi said the drift in the arena had made it difficult to control the shuttlecock. 

"I couldn't control the game," the 24-year-old told reporters.

In the second match of the day, however, Bilqis’ teammates in the doubles event, Melani Mamahit and Tryola Nadia, failed to repeat the success as they lost 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 to Chiharu Shida and Nami Matsuyama.

“It was quite a surprise that we could steal a game against one of the world’s best doubles pairs,” said Melani in a statement. 

Three remaining matches ended in straight sets. Sayaka Takahashi outpowered Tasya Farahnailah 21-9, 21-5 in the singles event, Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto defeated Lanny Tria Mayasari and Jesita Putri Miantoro 21-14, 21-15 in the doubles, while single shuttler Riko Gunji wrapped up Japan’s almost flawless performance with a 21-12, 24-22 win against Siti Sarah Azzahra.

Playing against a solid team like Japan, coach Prasetyo Restu Basuki decided to change the roster. Most players who fought France and Germany were rested for the Japan battle.

Elsewhere, South Korea thrashed India 5-0 to top Group D with An Se-young too good for PV Sindhu.

The world number four claimed victory in 42 minutes, 21-15, 21-14, over the seventh-ranked Sindhu.

The Koreans and India are also both into the last eight of the competition.

In the quarterfinals, Indonesia is set to meet powerhouse and defending champion China.

The Indonesian team manager, Hendro Santoso, said he would encourage his players to remain confident and keep fighting.

“As a runner-up in Group A, I am aware that Indonesia will meet the strongest team from the other group [in the quarterfinals]. I do not think it will be a problem at all. We must be ready to play against any team,” said Hendro.

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