The most prestigious event in badminton: All England Open Badminton Championships
There are numerous events in the world of badminton which grab the attention of top players from the whole world. The All England Open Badminton Championships is the oldest event among all tournaments in the badminton arena. It started in 1898 and has always
maintained its status of a prestigious event. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) included this event in the five premier super series events of the year.
In the last decade, the All England Open Badminton Championships have been full of quality with amazing displays from shuttlers from all over the world. In the category of Men’s Singles, many players made a tremendous run and entered in the history of great
players of all times. In 2001, it was Indian wonder, Pullela Gopichand, who showed a stunning performance and grabbed the title by beating Chinese top player, Chen Hong in straight games by a score of 15-12 and 15-6. However, in 2002, Chen Hong became successful
by beating Indonesian player, Budi Santoso in straight games in the final battle of this prestigious event.
Chen Hong played the third consecutive final of All England Open Badminton Championships in 2003 against Malaysian player, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim. This time, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim became the winner by beating Chen Hong in straight-sets with a score of 17-14
and 15-10. In 2004, it was China’s top shuttler, Lin Dan, who defeated the most competent Danish player, Peter Gade, in a three-set battle by the score of 9-15, 15-5 and 15-8, to become the new claimer of the title. However, in 2005, it was former champion,
Chen Hong who defeated Lin Dan and clinched the title for the second time.
The year 2006 once again brought glory back to Lin Dan, when he crushed Korean Lee Hyun Il by a convincing score of 15-7 and 15-7. In 2006, the International Badminton Federation changed the scoring system for making the game more thrilling.
In this scoring system, 21 points were introduced in each set. Lin Dan continued his impressive run at the 2007 All England Open and successfully defended his title against team-mate, Chen Yu, by beating him with a 21-13 and 21-12 score on the board. In
the final match of this prestigious event in 2008, it was the younger compatriot, Chen Jin, who won the final match against Lin Dan by a tight score of 22-20 and 25-23.
Again in 2009, Lin Dan won his fourth title of the All England Open Badminton Championships when he defeated the current World Number One Malaysian player, Lee Chong Wei in straight sets by 21-19 and 21-12. In the 2010 All England Open, it was Lee Chong
Wei who emerged as the winner of this event by getting rid of Japanese player, Kenichi Tago by 21-19 and 21-19. The Malaysian successfully defended his title by beating Lin Dan in the final of the last edition of this event which was held in March, 2011.
China proved their dominance in the last decade by winning seven out of eleven events in England. Lin Dan played seven finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships from 2004-2011. He won four titles out of his seven appearances in the finals of
this prestigious event. In the 2012 edition of this event, all top athletes will once again lock horns to win glory for their respective countries by making their mark in this event.
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