Ireland’s Scott Evans lost to Lin Dan, the 2008 Olympic champion.
The Chinese superstar, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, won 21-8, 21-14 in their first-round match at Wembley Arena.
The victory sees Lin go straight through to the last-16 knockout phase at London 2012 as the pair were the only players in Group P.
Evans had described the match as the biggest of his life and made a confident start as the crowd, with no Britons to cheer all day, got behind him.
The world number 76 hit a couple of good winners in the opening exchanges but Lin, despite playing well within himself, soon asserted his authority.
