Chen beats Lee to retain World Badminton crown

History repeated itself as Chen Long beat Lee Chong-Wei again in the final to win the men’s singles for the second time.

Chong Wei said he understood the hopes of all Malaysians and was disappointed to lose but he would not give up.

The former world number one is unseeded for the fi rst time in years at this world championships, having just returned from an eight-month ban for doping.

“This is my chance, and maybe my last opportunity”.

Marin took the first game comfortably, stumbled in the second and appeared distracted in the decider as her exhausted opponent forged a 13-8 lead when the Spaniard floundered at the net.

The top-seeded Long defeated Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand 21-17, 21-18 and will next face either seventh-seeded Viktor Axelsen of Denmark or 11th-seeded Prannoy Haseena Kumar of India.

“You could say that I forgot how it is to play Lee Chong Wei”, the Dane said.

Marin staged an impressive comeback against South Korea’s Sung Ji-Hyun to book a second-straight final appearance.

The Spanish top seed and defending champion screamed in triumph as she emerged victorious after a 90-minute battle over Sung 21-17, 15-21, 21-16.

“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning”, the 22-year-old Spaniard said.

Barely anything separated the kings of the sport as they sparred at electrifying speed in the first set.

And Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan defeated China’s Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan to win the men’s doubles event.

In the more than one hour duel, Wang, the 7th seed, made errors in the last moment, gifting the Spain’s No. 1 a 21-17, 21-19 win.

Chen has won both their previous meetings, but Momota’s rapid rise up the rankings in his breakout year suggests the Japanese player will feel confident of breaking his duck against his Chinese opponent.

Like Chen and Marin, China’s mixed doubles pairing Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei are also poised to retain their crown after coming from behind to beat Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir 20-22, 23-21, 21-12, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.