India’s Srikanth Kidambi claimed the men’s singles title at the BWF Australian Open after beating Olympic champion Chen Long in the final today ©BWF

India’s Srikanth Kidambi claimed the men’s singles title at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Australian Open after beating Olympic champion Chen Long in the final today.

The 24-year-old registered a 22-20, 21-16 win over his Chinese opponent at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre.

Victory continued the impressive form of Kidambi, the runner-up at the Singapore Open in April and winner at last week’s Indonesia Open.

"I was not thinking of winning or losing," he said after securing his second consecutive BWF World Superseries crown.

"I missed competitive badminton during my break last year and wanted to enjoy the match.

"These conditions are such that you can’t really attack.

"It’s a bit slow.

"You have to be prepared for a long match."

In the women’s singles final, Nozomi Okuhara overcame Japanese compatriot Akane Yamaguchi 21-12, 21-23, 21-17 to clinch her first BWF World Superseries title since the 2016 Yonex All England Open.  

Okuhara dedicated the win to her home city of Nagano, where two people were injured today following a shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6,

Nozomi Okuhara beat Akane Yamaguchi in an all-Japanese women's singles final ©BWF
Nozomi Okuhara beat Akane Yamaguchi in an all-Japanese women's singles final ©BWF

"I wanted to send good news to my home town," she said.

"Yesterday I said that I wanted to show that women’s singles in Japan is at a high level, so in this match, when Akane Yamaguchi really fought in the final game, we showed that.

"I received messages from my friends in Tokyo saying I would be fine if I stayed confident.

"So I was thinking of what I could do from here because they have been good to me.

"I thought the only thing I could do for them is bring good news to them.

"So I worked hard for everyone who has supported me to make them happy."

There was further success for Japan in the men’s and women’s doubles events.

Third seeds Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda beat Indonesia’s Hendra Setiawan and Malaysia’s Boon Heong Tan 21-17, 21-19 in the men’s final.

In the women’s final, top seeds Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi overcame second seeds Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen of Denmark 21-10, 21-13.

China’s Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen justified their status as the top seeds in the mixed doubles by winning the final 18-21, 21-14, 21-17 at the expense of Indonesia’s Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto.