'Super Dan' crowned first ever All England title

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 15, 2004

'Super Dan' crowned first ever All England title

World number one Lin Dan of China lifted his first All England badminton trophy Sunday after beating Dane Peter Gade in an intense men's final.

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World number one Lin Dan of China lifted his first All England badminton trophy Sunday after beating Dane Peter Gade in an intense men's final.

The women's singles final, however, was an all-Chinese affair for the seventh time in last eight years at the tournament as former world champion Gong Ruina defeated defending champion Zhou Mi 11-7, 11-7.

Lin, 20, came from behind in his clash against the 1999 champion to win 9-15, 15-5, 15-8 to a sell-out crowd of 4,500.

Lin, dubbed "Super Dan" by Chinese reporters, rocketed to the top position in world ranking as he has claimed five titles in sixtournaments including the All England since September last year.

Though the Chinese top seed struggled to find a rhythm early inthe final, he powered through the second set and then led 14-3 in the decider as Gade battled to keep pace.

"I was a bit nervous in the first game but I used a different method from then on and it was fine," said Lin.

The Dane managed to stave off one match point and then staged amini-rally but Lin finished it off in 77 minutes with a trade-markcross-court smash.

Gade, 27, approaching his best after a serious knee injury kepthim out of the sport for over a year, was far from disgraced and both men look to be serious medal contenders at August's Olympics in Athens.

Gade, who lost to Lin at last week's Swiss Open, said: "Of course I am disappointed but I will go away and take what I can from this tournament and use it in my Olympic preparations."

The women's doubles title also went to China but the spectatorswere disappointed to know that the final would be a walkover.

In an all-Chinese final, top seeds Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen were due to meet titleholders Gao Ling and Huang Sui but Zhang pulled out with a hamstring injury.

Fourth seeded Danish pair Jens Eriksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen did their part for Europe as they pushed aside Choong Tan Fook and Lee Wan Wah from Malaysia 9-15, 15-13, 15-3 in the men's doubles final.

Kim Dong-moon and Ra Kyung-min sailed to the expected victory in an all-South Korea mixed doubles final, beating Kim Yong-hyun and Lee Hyo-jung.

The winning South Korean pair has been rated the biggest favorite in the Athens Olympic Games in August as they have achieved a winning streak of 12.

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