SEOUL - Lee Hyun-il thrilled his home crowd with a battling victory over world champion Lin Dan of China in the final of the Korean Open Super Series on Sunday.

China's Lin Dan complains to a referee during the men's singles final of the Yonex Korea Open Badminton Super Series against South Korea's Lee Hyun-il in Seoul January 27, 2008. [Agencies]

In a classic 71-minute encounter, Lee recovered from a terrible start to triumph 4-21 23-21 25-23.

The victory was revenge for Lee who has a modest record against Lin and most notably lost to him in the final of the All England championships in Birmingham in 2006.

There was also a surprise in the women's singles final where unseeded Zhou Mi from Hong Kong ousted third seed Lu Lan of China 21-18 15-21 21-15 in a match lasting just under an hour.

The Korean tournament was the second in this year's 12-strong Super Series. The next event is the All England in March and the Series finals are in December.