BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) -China’s Shi Yuqi beat Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao in the men’s singles final to win the All England Open Badminton Championships title on Sunday, while South Korea’s An Se-young produced a marathon comeback to triumph in the women’s singles showpiece.
Top-seeded Shi won in 51 minutes, keeping Lee at bay for most of the match and claiming the title by 21-17 21-19.
The 2018 winner and world number one was composed throughout the match, despite Lee’s late comeback attempt in the final game, and raised his hand in triumph before a cheering crowd.
“Thank you, I love you guys,” Shi said in English to the fans at Arena Birmingham who were waving Chinese flags.
Top seed An prevailed 13-21 21-18 21-18 against China’s second-seeded Wang Zhiyi, who had dominated the first game.
Olympic champion An secured her second All England Open title in a match that took 95 minutes after both players had pushed themselves to the limit.
They were given a standing ovation at the end, with An struggling to walk through exhaustion.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; editing by Clare Fallon and Ken Ferris)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.