Defending champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei was stretched to the limit by veteran Wong Choong Hann before retaining his Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold men's singles title in an all-Malaysian affair at the Johor Baharu Indoor Stadium here Sunday.

Chong Wei, fresh from winning the Indonesian Open, had to go the extra mile before overcoming the seasoned veteran 21-8, 14-21, 21-15 in three sets.

Choong Hann who had defeated former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat in the semi final yesterday, was run over by Chong Wei in the first game but pulled up his socks in the second game to show that he was not a spent force.

In the deciding set, Chong Wei, the reigning world number one, pulled out all his tricks in the bag to dash the veteran's hopes of landing his first title of the year.