BIRMINGHAM, England, March 8 – Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi defeated India’s Lakshya Sen 21-15 22-20 to clinch her first All England Open title on Sunday, while China’s Wang Zhiyi captured the women’s singles crown with a straight-game victory over South Korea’s top seed An Se-young.

Lin, 26, showed great composure to deny Sen a chance at redemption following the Indian’s 2022 final loss to Dane great Viktor Axelsen. The left-hander had already attracted attention in the semi-finals, where he surprised 2023 world champion and second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.

Sen, who had eliminated defending champion and top seed Shi Yuqi of China in the first round, built a 9-4 lead in the second game as he looked to force a decider. But Lin, ranked 11th in the world, steadied himself and the pair exchanged a series of rallies before the Taiwanese shuttler took control.

Lin fell to his knees with his arms outstretched before roaring in celebration, savoring a historic victory in one of badminton’s most storied tournaments.

His win capped a week in which the men’s singles draw opened dramatically following the early exits of several favorites, including Shi and Danish third seed Anders Antonsen.

In the women’s singles final, Wang, 25, claimed her first All England title and denied An her third crown.

Elsewhere, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China beat Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na of South Korea 21-18, 21-12 to win the women’s doubles title.

Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Gonzales Chan of Taiwan defeated Delphine Delrue and Thom Gicquel of France 21-19 and 21-18 to claim the mixed doubles crown. REUTERS