Lin Dan wins record sixth All-England title

Lin Dan, already regarded by many as the greatest badminton player of all time, made another entry into the record books when he regained the All-England Open title and won it for a sixth time on Sunday.

Lin's 21-9, 21-10 victory in the final over his compatriot Tian Houwei was a thrilling rebuttal to those critics who reckoned that, aged 32 and with a mere handful of titles in the past three years, the Chinese legend is now only a past master. Mischievously skilful and tenaciously contentious, he ensured that the outcome of this final was never in doubt.

Instead Lin suggested a third Olympic men's singles gold medal could well be possible in Rio de Janeiro in five months' time. “I want to show everyone that at 33 I will still be able to do it,” he said.

It was four years since Lin had last won the All-England, but his total of men's singles titles here has now only been surpassed by Rudy Hartono, the great Indonesian, who won eight. But that was more than 40 years ago and in the pre-professional era. If this is Lin's last appearance here at the world's oldest international tournament, it was a suitably excellent way to say goodbye.