All England Championship: Shi Yuqi stuns Lin Dan to lift title

Birmingham, March 18: In an all-Chinese final at the All England Championship, Lin Dan was shocked by his younger compatriot Shi Yuqi. Seventh seeded Yuqi denied Dan a seventh All England title, ousting a lacklustre Lin 21-19, 16-21, 21-9 in Birmingham on Sunday (March 18).

Last year’s runner-up Shi had an easy outing as sixth-seeded Lin put up a sloppy show. The surprising absence of Lin's famed attacking skills helped Shi to grow in confidence. The 22-year-old was able to utilise his speed and hard-to-read overhead attacks without inhibition against the two-time Olympic gold-medallist.

Shi Yuqi beats Lin Dan to become @YonexAllEngland men's singles champion💪💪💪

What a performance from the 22-year-old! 🙌

Get both their reactions here 👉 https://t.co/Tt3w97Y4oR#YAE18 pic.twitter.com/p5CEvbJdEo

— Yonex All England (@YonexAllEngland) March 18, 2018

"I was more patient and controlled my pace, which helped me get the match back," said Shi, who admitted he was relieved to erase the memory of last year's final loss to Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei.

Lin would have been the oldest player in 63 years to win the All-England men's singles title had he prevailed. But just when he had levelled the match with a burst of delicate drops and sliced smashes, he suddenly lost his rhythm.

"I am 35, so to play at this level is good," said Lin, seemingly forgetting that he is actually only 34.

Lin became the first player ever to play in 10 All-England men's singles finals and made it the first all-Chinese men's Open final for a decade. "I feel good about myself and I want to congratulate my younger opponent."

Tai Tzu Ying defends her title

Earlier, Tai Tzu Ying, the world number one from Taiwan became the first women's singles player in more than a decade to successfully defend the title.

But she was not happy with her performance after a 22-20, 21-13 win over Akane Yamaguchi, the world number two from Japan, in which Tai had to save a game point in the first game. Yamaguchi had defeated PV Sindhu in a hard-fought semifinal the previous day.

"I told myself not to give up, not to lose the match like this." - The kind of spirit that brings you back-to-back @YonexAllEngland titles! 💪

Get the rest of Tai Tzu Ying's reaction to her finals win over @AKAne_GUcchi66 here 👉https://t.co/pbJzjk4hU1#YAE18 pic.twitter.com/lMUmmZxt3H

— Yonex All England (@YonexAllEngland) March 18, 2018

"I made a lot of mistakes, and in the end I just had to run with her," she said.

"I would like to come back again next year and play better."

Tai ended Yamaguchi's hopes of becoming the first Japanese player to win the All-England women's singles title since Hiroe Yuki more than 40 years ago.

But two other Japanese players did make All-England history.

Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino became the first pair from their country ever to win the mixed doubles title.

It was an even bigger upset because they had been unseeded, while the fifth-seeded Chinese pair, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, whom they beat 15-21, 22-20, 21-16, had been favourites going into the final.

(With inputs from Agencies)