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.