Lin Dan became the first man to win three singles titles at the world badminton championships on Sunday, while Xie Xingfang's hat trick bid was prevented by Lu Lan in the women's final.
Lin, badminton's most dominant player since 2004, beat Chinese compatriot Chen Jin 21-18, 21-16 in 45 minutes to add to his world titles in 2006 and 2007. There wasn't a championship last year, when the man nicknamed Super Dan won the Olympic gold medal before his home crowd in Beijing.
The fifth-seeded Lin, with superb net play, took a grip on the first game by reeling off five straight points to move to 11-6, and in the second he broke away from second-seeded Chen from 14-14.
Xie was favored to become the first woman to win three singles titles.
She rallied to lead younger Chinese teammate Lu 21-20 in the first game but lost the last three points.
Emboldened, seventh-seeded Lu won nine successive points to lead fifth-seeded Xie 18-9 in the second, and wrapped up her first world championship in 38 minutes.
Lu, who didn't drop a set, also beat world No. 2 Wang Lin and No. 3 Tine Rasmussen for her first singles title since the Denmark Open nearly two years ago.
China won four of the five finals on Sunday, including the men's and women's doubles. Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark won the mixed title.
