World and Olympic champion Lin Dan clinched his fourth All England title as China swept four finals in Birmingham yesterday.
The former world No. 1 eased to a 21-19, 21-12 victory over current top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.
![World and Olympic champion Lin Dan clinched his fourth All England title as China swept four finals in Birmingham yesterday. [Sina.com]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20090309/000802aa2f490b1eb47a10.jpg "World and Olympic champion Lin Dan clinched his fourth All England title as China swept four finals in Birmingham yesterday. [Sina.com]") |
|
World and Olympic champion Lin Dan clinched his fourth All England title as China swept four finals in Birmingham yesterday.?[Sina.com] |
Unseeded Wang Yihan added the women's singles title to China's haul when she stunned world No. 1 Tine Rasmussen of Denmark 21-19, 21-23, 21-11 in a thrilling final.
Earlier, third seeds He Hanbin and Yu Yang set the ball rolling for China by beating unseeded South Koreans Ko Sung-hyun and Ha Jung-eun 13-21, 21-15, 21-9 to take the mixed doubles crown.
The women's doubles title also went to the Asian powerhouse as seventh-seeded Zhang Yawen and Zhao Tingting saw off unseeded compatriots Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei 21-13, 21-15 in the final.
The men's doubles final could also go China's way as Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng, the seventh seeds, were taking on South Korea's Han Sang-hoon and Hwang Ji-man in the title-decider.
Lin's match with Lee was a re-run of last year's Olympic final in Beijing where Lin won 21-12, 21-8.
It was a tougher going yesterday but, apart from a brief spell in the first game when the top seed led 19-17 Lin, seeded two, was in control.
He rattled off four points in a row to take the game and then produced an even better effort in the second, reeling off seven points in succession to race from 14-12 to 21-12 and victory.
It was a ninth triumph over his big rival in their last 10 meetings and a boost for the Chinese as he seeks to regain his place at the top of the world rankings.
Lin, making his sixth appearance in a row in the final, had won the title previously in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
Keen to get through a news conference so he could go shopping, the Chinese told reporters: "There were a couple of times in the first game when I was not quite handling it but I managed to keep my form and I think I played well."
A capacity crowd of around 4,500 at the National Indoor Arena warmed to a high-class contest and there was plenty of encouragement for the runner-up.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily March 9, 2009)
