(LONDON, XEN) - Olympic champion Lin Dan had a thrilling preparation for the defence of his title at next year's Games here when he saved two match points to beat top-seeded Lee Chong Wei in a sensational world championship final on Sunday.
The Chinese star held off the challenge of the Malaysian heir apparent by 20-22, 21-14, 23-21 in 81 minutes after trailing 19-20 and 20-21 in the final game of the best contest yet between the two great men's singles rivals.
Lin's triumph was the highlight of a day in which China again set records, becoming the first nation successfully to defend all five world titles. It achieved the full hand at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris last year.
It was also Lin's fourth world title but it would not have happened had he not unleashed a thrilling jump smash on the first match point against him and then lifted the shuttle deep enough to bring an overhead drop error from Lee on the second.
"I just didn't think too much about the result on the match points," said Lin afterwards. "I tried to focus on what I was doing.
"And I didn't think about the title before the tournament, but after a match like this I feel really excited."
That certainly showed with Lin's celebration, in which he ripped his shirt off and leapt across the court to indulge in a melee of hugging with members of the Chinese team.
Lin later added that he thought Lee played very well, which was true, but the outcome is a significant blow for the favourite who had been hoping to become the first player from Malaysia to win a world title in preparation for his Games bid in the same Wembley arena next year.
Lee was 20-16 up in the first game and was unable to convert any of those four game points, eventually winning it from 20-all with a lunging kill and a smash.
He also led 10-9 in the second game and 16-13 in the third but fell away disappointingly both times when all looked set fair.
Much of this had to do with Lin's fighting spirit however.
He never dominated the game as he used to do so often of old, but he rallied cagily, scrambled diligently, selected good moments to attack, and, most of all, delivered on the big points.
Lee did not come for interview, apparently because he was having treatment for severe cramp, but a worry may be that the bigger injury is to his mind.
Lee later issued a statement admitting his disappointment and emphasizing that this had been his best world championship "to date" -- which implied he may not retire after next year's Olympic as suggested.
China won the women's singles too, when Wang Yihan, the second-seeded former All-England champion, overcame the surprise finalist, Cheng Shao Chieh, the seventh seeded Taiwanese, by 21-15, 21-10.
Wang made an apprehensive start, trailing 9-12, but once she began to feel more comfortable, dominated most of the rallies with her longer reach, greater height, steeper drops and superior power.
She maintained the pressure on Cheng with these weapons, preventing the Taiwanese from hustling in the way she had done when she beat the top-seeded Wang Shixian.
The triumph underlined the fine recovery that Wang has made since a lumbar injury prevented her from playing at the All-England championships in March.
"The Chinese team knew Cheng's style well and it was possible to play a tactical match against her," said Wang. "I was crying. I was very proud."
The opening match saw Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang win the women's doubles, and the penultimate saw Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng defend the men's doubles title, winning it for a fourth time.
The full hand of titles was completed in the mixed doubles, when Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei romped away from 15-15 in the first game to win 21-15, 21-7 against the unseeded Chris Adock of England and Imogen Bankier of Scotland.
It was England's first world championship medal for five years and the Scots first for 34 years.
