BIRMINGHAM - Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei was at his sublime best as he claimed the All England Open title for a third time with a 21-13 21-18 win over Chen Long on Sunday. After avenging his final loss to Chen last year, the 31-year-old world number one hinted that Sunday could be his last appearance at the tournament. "I think maybe this is my last All England," Lee told reporters.
"I'm very happy and I tried my best because Chen Long is a very tough match for me. I've lost to him (Chen) many times so I think for this reason I made sure I tried very hard. I've finished for this year and I don't know if I will be back next year." While Chen went home empty-handed, there was joy for his girlfriend Wang Shixian after she beat top seed and Olympic champion Li Xuerui 21-19 21-18 to capture the women's title.
Wang showed patience and ruthless efficiency. "There are still a lot of big tournaments waiting for me to win so hopefully I can keep going," said Wang. Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli showed they had come a long way since being expelled from the 2012 London Olympics for throwing matches as they saved a match point before beating Ma Jin and Tang Yuanting 21-17 18-21 23-21 in the all-Chinese women's doubles final to retain their crown.
There was success for Indonesian pair Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan who defeated Japan's Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa 21-19 21-19 in the men's doubles final. Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir then fended off Chinese top seeds Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei 21-13 21-17 in the mixed doubles final to secure an Indonesian double.