Kidambi Srikanth became the first Indian man to win three Superseries titles in a single year after defeating South Korea's Lee Hyun Il 21-10, 21-5 in one of the most one-sided Superseries finals in history on Sunday.
Srikanth is only the third Indian to win the tournament. Prakash Padukone had won the men's singles title in 1979-80 and Saina Nehwal had won the women's singles title in 2012. "It has been a fantastic win for me," Srikanth said after the final.
The win ensures that Srikanth will go top of the Destination Dubai rankings again after falling behind Son Wan Ho at the end of the Japan Open last month. He is also likely to rise to number three (his current career-best) in the world rankings that will come out on Thursday.
Srikanth's net play confounds Lee
Srikanth and Lee had never faced each other before this match and it was the Indian player who led 6-4 against his vastly experienced opponent, who was appearing in the 40th final of his career.
It was Srikanth's net play that confounded Lee as he was frequently drawn to the net after Srikanth pushed him deep in his backhand corner.
Srikanth took a five point lead at the changeover after Lee pushed a backhand return out of play. Srikanth had earlier played a delectable drop shot that helped him extend the lead to three points.
Overheads do the magic for Srikanth
Lee struggled to read the direction and distance on Srikanth's overhead clears as he left a couple of shuttles that landed well within the baseline. The first game was done and dusted in just 12 minutes as Srikanth won it after Lee erred on a simple backhand return.
At 37, Lee was the oldest singles finalist in Superseries history and looked to be jaded from his 91 minute semi-final against compatriot Son, which was played on Saturday.
Second game a no contest
The 13-year age gap between the two players showed clearly in the second game as Srikanth raced to a 11-1 lead as Lee had no more fuel the tank.
Lee had beaten Olympic Champion and four-time Denmark Open winner Chen Long in the opening round this year but he had to grind for four hours and 20 minutes in his four previous matches to enter the final.
Srikanth had to spend 20 minutes more than Lee to progress to the final but that also included a one-hour delay in his second round match Jeon Heok Jin.
Srikanth eventually won the match in just 25 minutes, in what was the shortest Superseries final this year. "He must have been tired after yesterday's long match," Srikanth said.
Srikanth creating history
Having missed the last three months of 2016 with an ankle injury, Srikanth has no ranking points to defend over the next two months and a good run at the upcoming Superseries events in France, China and Hong Kong could see him become the third Indian after Prakash Padukone and Saina Nehwal to be ranked world number one.
Srikanth will participate in the French Open (Superseries) next, where he is slated to take on England's Rajiv Ouseph in the opening round.
Srikanth had won the Indonesia Open and Australia Open earlier this year. He also made the finals of the Singapore Open, where he lost to compatriot B Sai Praneeth. Among currently active players, only Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan and Chen Long have won more men's singles Superseries titles than Srikanth.
Srikanth's three Superseries titles are the most by any player in the men's singles category this year. World Champion Viktor Axelsen is next-best with two.