Chris and Gabby Adcock are facing early elimination from the BWF Destination Dubai World Superseries Finals after suffering a second group stage defeat.
England's No 1 mixed doubles pair were beaten 21-14 21-17 by Chinese duo Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei in 40 minutes.
China’s top seeds headed into the match with a 7-1 winning record over the Adcocks and cruised to another comfortable victory.Â
The Adcocks must produce a victory against Germany's Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels in Friday’s last group game to keep their qualification hopes alive.
They can still reach Saturday's semi-finals if the Germans can beat Korea’s Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na, who defeated the Adcocks in their opening game.