Unseeded Wang Zhiyi withstood a late fightback from world champion Akane Yamaguchi to record a stunning victory in the women’s final of the Badminton Asia Championships on Sunday. Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia took the men’s title with a 21-17, 23-21 win over Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie.

China’s Wang, ranked 16th in the world, needed treatment on a back injury but hung on to beat the Japanese top seed and defending champion Yamaguchi 15-21, 21-13, 21-19 in 78 minutes of pulsating action that had the raucous crowd rocking.