The Dane, the third seed, won 22-20, 21-16 at the Emirates Arena to cap a dream week in the Scottish city.

Axelsen, the Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and the 2016 European champion, beat another Chinese player in reigning Olympic champion Chen Long yesterday.

Lin was aiming for a sixth world title to sit alongside his Beijing 2008 and London 2012 gold medals but it was not to be as the 23-year-old reigned supreme.

Axelsen is the first European winner of the men's crown since his compatriot Peter Rasmussen won the 1997 edition.

"I haven't even dared to think of winning a gold at the World Championships, it's hasn’t sunk in yet," he said. 

"I have this feeling that all the hard work has been worth it."

In the women's final, Japan's Nozomi Okuhara won her maiden title as she defeated India's PV Sindhu in three.

Like Axelsen, Okuhara won Olympic bronze at Rio 2016 and claimed the biggest success of her career today.

Sindu, the silver medallist at Rio 2016, had to make do with second-place again as Okuhara triumphed 21-19, 20-22, 22-20.

At one hour and 50 minutes, this was the longest match of the entire Championships. 

"When I saw the time, it was over an hour, and I thought 'oh my god, where is it going?,'" Okuhara said.

"I was in a different world. 

"I told myself to enjoy the moment. 

"I saw she was tired too, so I believed I had the advantage."

China's fourth seeds Qingchen Chen and Yifan Jia beat Japan's Sayaka Hirota and Yuki Fukushima to the women's doubles crown, 21-18, 17-21, 21-15.

Chen then returned for the mixed doubles final, joining Siwei Zheng to take on Indonesia's Tontowi Ahmad and Lilyana Nastir.

She could not make it two victories as the Indonesians triumphed 15-21, 21-16, 21-15.

In the men's doubles, China's Liu Cheng and Nan Zhang beat Indonesia's Mohammad Asan and Rian Agung Saputro 21-10, 21-17.