Okuhara prevailed 21-11, 16-21, 21-19 in a 99-minute marathon, the second longest match of the tournament, aided by a conduct point against Wang late in the decider for time-wasting.

Li Dan (Photo: Badminton Photo)

Okuhara said: “It was obviously a very tense atmosphere and I think it was mainly due to a strange timing issue. I was lucky I wasn’t cautioned.”

Lin Dan of China became only the fourth player to win the men’s singles title six times when he beat compatriot Tian Houwei at the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships on Sunday.

Lin was at his dominating best in an all-Chinese final as he beat Tian 21-9, 21-10 in a one-sided contest at a sell-out Barclaycard Arena.

“This is my ninth All-England final, my sixth title and my best performance of the week,” said Lin, who will attempt to win a third Olympic title later this year.

The women’s doubles saw Japan’s third seeds Misaki Matsuotomo and Ayaka Takahashi finally break China’s eight-year stranglehold in the women’s doubles as they outplayed Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang of China 21-10, 21-12.

In the mixed doubles, eighth-seeded Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto beat Denmark’s Joachim Nielsen and Christinna Pederson 21-12, 21-17 as Indonesia won their fourth title in five years in the event following an impressive display.

The third Japanese pair in Sunday’s finals saw a remarkable men’s doubles conclusion as Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov lifted Russia’s biggest-ever title win.

The surprise of the week, Russia’s European champions beat Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa 21-23, 21-18, 21-16, the Japanese pair losing their third All England final.

Report courtesy of Badminton England.

The Adcocks beat Indonesia’s Lilyana Natsir and Tontowi Ahmad 21-18, 21-16, as they atoned for their last eight defeat against the pair in 2015 to become the first British players to reach the last four of the sport’s oldest event since 2008, to the delight of a packed Barclaycard Arena.

The Superseries champions will now meet Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen of Denmark for a place in Sunday’s final.

“We’ve broken the quarter-final curse and to be able to be playing on the Saturday and not watching on television is a great feeling,” said Chris.

Gabby added: “We’ve gradually played better as the tournament has gone on and right now we’re over the moon to play in the semis of our favourite event. We are a bit overwhelmed right now but it’s an amazing feeling.”

The rivals had two wins apiece in their last four meetings, but here the Adcocks were right on their game and never let the Indonesians find a run of note.

They won the first game with patient build-up play coupled with tight interchanges, holding pivotal two to three-point leads.

In the second, the Indonesians racked up several errors thanks to some piercing smashes from Chris. They reached match point thanks to a delightful cross-court drop from Gabby and were soon celebrating wildly when the Indonesians netted.

Chris admitted: “We made it hard for the Indonesians and probably played the best against them tonight.

On the Danish pair, Chris said: “They are world-class. We’ve haven’t played them too much but it will be a special day.”

Earlier, Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge put up a brave performance but couldn’t find a way past stubborn Korean resistance in their last eight clash.

The English national champions threw everything at top seeded and world number one pair Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yoo Seong, but fell short 21-17, 21 after an intensely physical encounter.

Full results, timings and draws available at allenglandbadminton.com.

Please credit Badminton Photo if you wish to use the attached photo of Chris and Gabby winning.