Malaysia Open: Shi Yu Qi follows Lin Dan footsteps to win men's singles crown

Shi dominated throughout the 39-minute contest to seal the one-sided victory for his maiden victory on Malaysian soil.

In doing so, Shi also avenged his defeat to Antonsen after losing in last year’s final.

“I’m definitely happy because it has been a while since a Chinese men’s singles won a title in Malaysia. Last year, he was in excellent form, so today I reflected on my past encounters with him.

“The last time we played, I defeated him at the World Tour Finals. So I knew he would want to win this time. I made sure to prepare thoroughly for this match. My performance is getting better, especially in my mentality,” said Shi, who immediately celebrated with his coaches after the win.

Lin Dan was the last Chinese men’s singles shuttler before Shi to win the Malaysia Open back in 2019, when he defeated Chen Long in the final.

South Korea’s An Se-young claimed the women’s singles silverware after the world number one trounced China’s Wang Zhi Yi 21-17, 21-7.

An was in a class of her own in the dominant victory, and the Paris Olympics gold medalist has got herself a new target for this year.

The 22-year-old wants to eclipse her record of 10 titles won back in 2023.

“Breaking my own record is something I want to continue doing. I guess I’m quite ambitious. Winning gives me tremendous confidence and brings me the greatest joy,” she said.

Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto won the women’s doubles title after coming from a game down to beat Chinese pair Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian 17-21, 21-15, 21-15.