Badminton: Lee Chong Wei wins All England title

Lee Chong Wei successfully defended his All-England Open men's singles title when he beat his greatest rival, Lin Dan, the Olympic champion from China, 21-17, 21-17 in Sunday's final. The top-seeded Malaysian's triumph came as a surprise to many people, for Lin had won 15 of their 22 meetings, the last of which was at the world's first million dollar tournament, the Korean Open, in January. But Lin rarely tried the fierce airborne attacks for which he has become famous, and Lee's superb movement and excellent shuttle control in the resulting game of cat-and-mouse proved slightly superior. The defeat means Lin failed to achieve a fifth All-England Open title, which would have been a unique achievement in the open era. The next All-England, not long before the 2012 Olympics, will be his last before his retirement. str/nr11