Chinese legend Lin Dan added Malaysia Open title, which had been the only major title that eluded him for long, to his illustrious profile when he defeated 11-time champion Lee Chong Wei in straight games in the Men's singles final in Kuching on Sunday.
The two-time Olympic champion won the Superseries Premier title in his fourth final appearance after losing the title matches in 2005, 2006 and 2015. Lin started on a rusty note and trailed the defending champion 19-15 in the first game. However, he buckled up and made sure the opening game went his way with six straight points.
Lin also made sure it was not a repeat of 2006 final, which was also the last time the tournament was held in Sarawak, in which Chong Wei saved eight match points to win the decider at the same venue. The world number six, with his deft touches and unbreakable defense, broke down the Malaysian legend, who had the home crowd rallying behind him.
Emotional Lin swaps shirts with Chong Wei
At the end of 55 minutes of play, Lin took the match 21-19, 21-14 to finish on the top step of the podium. With the win, the Chinese shuttler also took the head-to-head advantage over his arch rival to 26-12.
The two legends swapped shirts at the end of the match shortly after Lin celebrated his win by falling flat on the court. Notably, this is was also the first time in 14 years Chong Wei lost the final of Malaysia Open after his 2003 title match defeat to China's Chen Hong.
Tai Tzu Ying reigns supreme
Tai Tzu Ying continued her dominance over the rest of the pack with another strong show in the Women's singles final by defeating reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin 23-25, 22-20, 21-13. In the title match, that went on for an hour and 25 minutes, the two champion shuttlers gave their best but it was the world number one's deception and strong defence that took her past the line.
With the Malaysia Open win, Tai has now become the first Women's singles shuttler to win four Superseries titles on the trot - Hong Kong Open 2016, Dubai World Superseries Finals 2016, All England Championships 2017.
