Badminton couple Lin, Xie make finals at All-England

LONDON - China's Lin Dan and his girlfriend Xie Xingfang each earned a berth in the men's and women's final respectively at the All England Open badminton championships with comfortable victories here on Saturday.

China's Xie Xingfang celebrates beating China's Zhu Lin during the women's single semi-finals at the All England badminton championships in Birmingham, England March 10, 2007. [Reuters]

China's Lin Dan celebrates beating China's Bao Chunlai during the men's single semi-finals at the All England badminton championships in Birmingham, England March 10, 2007. [Reuters]

It's the fourth successive All England final for the nicknamed "Super Dan", who won over the fifth seeded compatriot Bao Chunlai 21-14, 21-16.

The match was a repeat of the world championship final in Madrid last year when Lin again came out on top.

His final rival on Sunday will be fellow Chinese Chen Yu, the sixth seed who outlasted second seed Chen Jin 21-18, 9-21, 21-13.

The women's final pits Xie and France's Pi Hongyan, who is Chinese-born, at the National Indoor Arena on Sunday.

Xie booked her place for the fourth time in the last five years with a 21-14, 21-19 victory over compatriot Zhu Lin, while Pi Hongyan survived match point to beat another Chinese Zhang Ning 21-18, 21-23, 24-22.

China could capture all five titles up for grabs on Sunday, a feat never achieved in a tournament that dates back to 1899, as the doubles events see Chinese pairs in the finals.

The men's doubles final will be played between top seeded Chinese Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng and eighth seeds Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia, while the pairs of Wei Yili/Zhang Yawen and Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen set up all Chinese final in the women's doubles.

England's mixed doubles world championship silver medallists Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg broke the Chinese stranglehold with a feisty 21-19, 21-17 victory over second-seeded Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen.

The English duo now meet China's Zheng Bo and Gao Ling who beat world champions Nathan.