On Sunday night, the lights at Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England, focused sharply on a single stage: the badminton court.

When Wang Zhiyi sent a steep cross-court smash skimming An Se-young's back line, the scoreboard froze at 21–19. After 59 tense minutes, the women's singles final of the All England Open Badminton Championships was decided.

For a moment, Wang could barely process it. Only seconds earlier, a commanding 20–15 lead had been suddenly narrowed to 20–19, as An mounted a late charge. The arena held its breath with every rally.

Then it sank in.

The winning shot did more than clinching the title. It ended Wang's 10-match losing streak to An, halted the South Korean star's staggering 36-match cross-season winning run, and returned the All England women's singles crown to China for the first time in seven years.

Wang had taken the first game 21–15, and looked poised to close out the match after building that 20–15 advantage in the second. But world No 1 An, known for her relentless defense, clawed back four straight points to make it 20–19 and push the final toward a tense denouement.

Before the match, the head-to-head record had been lopsided: 22 meetings, only four wins for Wang, and 10 straight defeats over the past 18 months — a run some observers dubbed the "An Se-young complex".

But this time it was different.

In the decisive rally, Wang resisted reckless attacks. A subtle feint shifted An's balance, and a split-second later came the razor-angled cross-court smash that sealed the title.

The victory marks a milestone in Wang's career on one of badminton's grandest stages.

Founded in 1899 and organized by the Badminton World Federation, the All England Open is often called badminton's "unofficial world championships", a Super 1000 tournament rich in history and prestige.

Most predictions favored An, fresh off a semifinal win over Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei and on track to become the first South Korean to claim three All England women's singles titles.

Wang, however, had a different plan.

Instead of chasing speed and stamina, the 25-year-old slowed the tempo, using patient four-corner rallies to stretch the court and exploit An's backhand.

Even when she fell behind early in the first game, Wang stayed composed and quickly fought back to seize control of the rally. After the final point, emotion finally took over.

In the mixed zone, Wang reflected on her approach: "The key today was my mentality. In previous matches, I might not have stayed patient for so many shots. Today I did — and that's when my opponent made mistakes."

Even holding the trophy, disbelief lingered.

"I'm incredibly excited. I still can't quite believe I won. On court, I focused only on my tactics. The most important thing was believing in myself."

The title — her 12th on the BWF World Tour — carried deeper significance: China's first All England women's singles crown since Chen won the last in 2019.

At a pivotal stage in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics cycle, Wang's breakthrough shattered An's aura of invincibility and will have injected fresh confidence into China's women's badminton program.

Women win, men struggle

China's success in Birmingham was not limited to the singles court.

Earlier that day, the women's doubles pair of Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning defeated South Korea's Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee in straight games to claim their first All England title. The victory extended their season-long winning streak to 15 matches and returned the women's doubles crown to China, again after a seven-year wait.

"I think we tried our best for this game. We prepared a lot for it, so now it is finally finished, it is very exciting that we are first-time All England champions," Tan said.

"I see a lot of names of people that I know in person (on the trophy) — our teammates in previous years, also including our coach — and it is a good story that the trophy has been passed down," Liu added.

Together, the two titles underscored the enduring depth of the Chinese women's program.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the men.

In men's singles, defending champion and world No 1 Shi Yuqi suffered a shock first-round defeat to India's Lakshya Sen. Teammates Lu Guangzu, Weng Hongyang and Wang Zhengxing also exited early, leaving Li Shifeng as the lone survivor before he, too, fell to Sen in the quarterfinals.

Mixed doubles and men's doubles produced similar disappointments, with Chinese pairs unable to reach a final.

The contrast was stark: the women lifting trophies, the men searching for answers.

For Wang Zhiyi, however, Birmingham will be remembered as the place where persistence finally paid off.

Off court, the champion shared a lighthearted exchange with her coach Luo Yigang. Exhausted after the match, she joked that she could not endure anymore grueling morning training sessions.

Luo's reply was immediate: the hard work, he said, was exactly why she had won.

Later that night, Wang posted a simple message on the Chinese social media platform Weibo:"Unbelievable!!! Finally unlocked the All England title. Thank you to my team and everyone who supports me. I'll get back to training when I return."

For years, she had chased An without success. On Sunday night in Birmingham, she finally caught her.