Lin Dan falls to compatriot Shi Yuqi in All-England final

Lin Dan returns a shot to Shi Yuqi during the men's singles final match at the All England Open Badminton tournament in Birmingham, England on Sunday. - AP Photo/Rui Vieira

PETALING JAYA: Shi Yuqi prevented Lin Dan from winning his seventh All-England title in an all-China men's singles final at Arena Birmingham.

Shi Yuqi toiled for 75 minutes to beat his senior 21-19, 16-21, 21-9 for his first All-England title.

The 22-year-old Shi lost to Lee Chong Wei in the men's singles final last year.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's Jeremy Gan showed that he is indeed a coach with the Midas touch.

In his first assignment as the mixed doubles coach in Japan, his charges Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino emerged as the All-England champions.

The unseeded Watanabe-Higashino upset fifth seeds Zheng Siwei-Huang Yaqiong of China 15-21, 22-20, 21-16 to become Japan's first-ever mixed doubles champions in the All-England on Sunday.

Jeremy left to Japan last November when head coach Park Joo-bong hired him to beef up the mixed doubles.

In Malaysia, Jeremy had a successful stint under the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) banner.

When he was the mixed doubles coach, Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying became the country's first mixed doubles pair to win an Open title.

And when he was moved as the men's doubles coach, Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong enjoyed their best year in 2016 by winning the Rio Olympics silver medals, Denmark Open and World Superseries Finals.

Meanwhile, Japan failed to make it a double joy when Akane Yamaguchi lost 20-22, 13-21 to world No. 1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in the women's singles final.