Wei, Rasmussen lift All England badminton title

World No 1 Lee Chong Wei secured his first All England title on Sunday with a 21-19, 21-19 victory over unseeded Japanese Kenichi Tago.

In the women's category, Denmark's Tine Rasmussen regained her All England singles title with a battling 21-14, 18-21, 21-19 victory over holder and top seed Wang Yihan of China.

It was sweet revenge for the tall Dane who first lifted the crown in 2008 only to lose it last year to the Chinese.

Malaysian Wei lost out in last year's final to world and Olympic champion Lin Dan but the Chinese exited this time round in the quarter-finals, easing the way for Chong Wei.

But Wei had to fight hard against Tago who had earlier beaten top Chinese talent Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai to become the first Japanese to reach the men's singles final since 1966.

Tago led 4-0 in the first set and 15-11 later on before Chong Wei finally nosed ahead at 16-15. Though Tago managed to save three set points he finally yielded at 21-19.

In the second, Chong Wei led 6-1 and 11-7 but the tough Japanese levelled at 14-14.

The Malaysian then stretched out to 20-17 and although Tago saved two match points a final shuttle from Chong Wei landed just in the baseline to secure the triumph.