Ng Tze Yong ended his 2022 season with a title in the bag after the Malaysian clinched the Bahrain International Challenge men's singles title.
Ng battled to three games before overcoming Chinese Taipei's Kuo Kuan-lin 21-15, 20-22, 21-12 in a 80-minute contest.
In doing so, the top seed lived up to his billing by going all the way in a field made up of shuttlers below him on the world rankings.
It was in lower-tier events like this that Ng flourished last year, winning the Polish and Scottish Open as well as the Belgian International.
In terms of achievement, this Bahrain success was the Johor-born's most significant this year.
He also reached the Syed Modi International and Australian Open semi-finals, and finished runner-up at the Commonwealth Games.
On the domestic front, Ng won the Sukma Games gold.
But winning in Bahrain should give the shuttler a huge lift ahead of the 2023 season, which begins with the Malaysia Open from January 10-15.
