South Korea's unseeded Se Young-an won the BWF New Zealand Open title in Auckland ©Getty Images

Unseeded South Korean Se Young-an completed a remarkable achievement at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) New Zealand Open today by beating China’s Li Xuerui in the final.

Li, the London 2012 individual champion, had returned to the sport after a serious knee injury and had produced a surprise in the semi-finals of this Super 300 tournament by beating Japan’s top seed Akane Yamaguchi.

Indonesia's third seed Jonatan Christie, runner-up at the BWF New Zealand Open last year, went one better this year ©Getty Images
Indonesia's third seed Jonatan Christie, runner-up at the BWF New Zealand Open last year, went one better this year ©Getty Images

But she had no answer to Se, who has deposed a series of more highly-ranked players at Auckland’s Eventfinda Stadium this week, and claimed the title thanks to a 21-19, 21-15 success.

In the men’s event, Indonesia’s third seed Jonatan Christie, runner-up last year, went one better with a comparatively straightforward win over Hong Kong’s sixth seed Ng Ka Long Angus.

Ng had beaten China’s double Olympic champion Lin Dan to reach the final, but he lost 21-12, 21-13 to Christie.