Tine Baun brought the curtain down on a magnificent badminton career when she won a thrilling final match before retirement to take the women’s singles title at the Yonex All England Open Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham this afternoon.

Baun, the 33-year-old Danish former world No. 1, became the oldest All England champion in the Open era when she defeated an opponent who would have been the youngest champion as she outplayed 18-year-old Intanon Ratchanok of Thailand 21-14 16-21 21-10 in 53 minutes.

Baun was on top in the first game before the teenager turned the tables in the second. But Baun made her experience tell in the decider as she built on a 12-3 lead to secure her third All England title from her fourth final appearance.

Baun said: “The first two titles were good but this one is extra special. This is a tournament that I always kept playing in. I love it here and I love my supporters, thank you. I knew that I would play my best and I felt great on court. I could have run in that hall for two hours. I had so much energy.

“Mentally it was very tough, physically it was not as tough as yesterday (when her semi-final lasted 75 minutes). I have gained so much power and motivation from winning yesterday.

“I was playing my game, if she played fantastic like she has the talent to, then that would be fine but if she was a little nervous and made a few mistakes then I knew I would definitely win today.

“At the end, when I was 20-9 up I was thinking, ‘This could be my last rally’ so a lot of emotions went through my head at the end.

“It’s not that easy (to quit now) when you have a result like this, but I am happy I am quitting at the top, I remember a lot throughout my career like winning here and playing the Olympics. The fans are fantastic, they have been there with me many times in finals and I love them.”

Ratchanok said: “I have enjoyed this tournament a lot and it was good to get so far. I love the people here and I love Birmingham.

“In the third set I felt that I was not so tired but I was slower than at the start. I hope that in the future I can be a champion here. I think that as it was her last game she played excellently.”

Final Results

Men’s Singles:  (2) Chen Long (Chn) bt (1) Lee Chong Wei (Mas) 21-17 21-18
Women’s Singles (7) Tine Baun (Den) bt (8) Intanon Ratchanok (Thai) 21-14 16-21 21-10
Men’s Doubles: Liu Xiaolong & Qiu Zhan (Chn) bt (4) Hiroyuki Endo & Kenichi Hayakawa (Jpn) 21-11 21-9
Women’s Doubles: (1) Wang Xiaoli & Yu Yang (Chn) bt Cheng Shu  & Zhao Yunlei (Chn) 21-18 21-10
Mixed Doubles: (2) Tontowi Ahmad & Liliyana Natsir (Ina) bt (5) Zhang Nan & Zhao Yunlei (Chn) 21-13 21-17

For more news from finals day go to www.allenglandbadminton.com

Article by William Kings, Photo (LIVE) by BadmintonPhoto.