Kuala Lumpur, Jan. 11 -- World No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China retired with a back injury during Sunday's Malaysia Open final against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Shi, the reigning world champion, played through pain but pulled out after dropping the first game 21-23. He credited Kunlavut after the match.
"Kunlavut has always been a very strong player and is one of the very top players in the world right now," he said. "Playing against him is always a learning experience, especially on a final stage like this."In the women's singles final, Olympic champion An Se-young of South Korea defeated China's Wang Zhiyi 21-15, 24-22.
Wang said she had chances to turn the match around in the second game but fell short in key moments.
"When I was being c...