Olympic champion Lin Dan today became the first badminton player to clinch a hat-trick of world titles, beating fellow Chinese Chen Jin in straight games in the finals of the mega-event at the Gachibowli stadium here today.
World number five Lin outplayed second-ranked Chen 21-18 21-16 in a contest that lasted 46 minutes.
Lin had won the earlier World Championship in 2006 and 2007, apart from winning four All-England title in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009.
In an all-Chinese clash, fifth seed Lin rode on his lightening smashes and long aggressive rallies to beat his higher-ranked opponent.
He also outsmarted Chen on the nets, leaving his compatriot to rue a series of unforced errors in the match.
Lin stamped his authority right from the start as he pushed Chen on the back-foot after an initial neck-and-neck competition at 6-6.
The left handed maestro opened up a five-point lead, leaving Chen to do the catch up job.
The second game was no different as Lin surged into lead immediately. Although Chen bounced back, a flurry of unforced errors cooked his goose.
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