Two years ago, badminton player An Se-young became the first Korean women’s singles champion since Bang Soo-hyun in 1996 at the All England Open Badminton Championships, the oldest and most prestigious badminton tournament in the world. The final of that year’s championships, in which she defeated her “archrival” Chen Yufei of China, was An’s declaration that a new era would be upon in the women’s badminton singles.
In July of that year, An became the first Korean woman to be ranked No. 1 in the world since Bang, and she went on to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October. In the final, An faced Chen Yufei again and clinched a 2-1 victory after a close match. She was on the defensive after injuring her knee during the game, but her persistent fighting spirit to defeat Chen Yufei drew cheers from fans. An also won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, where she participated with the knee injury, and was recognized as the “strongest.”
 |
| Badminton player An Se-young shouts for joy after winning the women’s singles title at All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, on March 17. AFP/Yonhap News |
In 2025, An continued to dominate international competitions with even more unrivaled performance. The Korean badminton player, who dominated the Malaysian Open, the Indian Open, and the Orléans Masters in turn, is back on the throne of the All England Open Badminton Championships.
An, the World No. 1 player, defeated China’s Wang Zhiyi 2-1 (13-21, 21-18, 21-18) in the women’s singles final of the BWF World Tour Super 1000 event in Birmingham, England, on March 17, becoming the champion of the tournament again in two years. She has won every match she has played this year, extending her winning streak to 20 matches and winning her fourth title.
Physical condition has been almost the only variable in An’s consistently strong post-Olympic run. An, who suffered pain in her thigh in the semifinal against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan the previous day, played in the final with the area taped.
She lost the first game by a wide margin as her physical condition was not good, but from the second game, she showed her trademark tenacious badminton performance. Even though her body’s range of motion was not normal due to the injury, she moved one step further than her opponent and out-muscled her. The turning point came at 6-6, when she scored after 79 rallies. An, who remained focused throughout the tiebreak, took the lead with a smash at 18-18 to take the second game.
The third game was also close, but An has always been strong in a close game. Trailing 15-16, An mixed short and long attacks, draining her opponent’s energy and forcing her into mistakes to tie the game. Her opponent’s last shot was lined out and soon after, An won the hairpin rally to reach the match point. The opponent’s last shop was lined out, and the 1-hour and 35-minute battle ended with the victory of An.
After the victory, An, who once again won a championship while struggling with injury, knelt on the court and pumped her fists in the air in celebration. “I only thought about not giving up. That was what kept me going and eventually led to the victory,” she said, adding, ”I learned that if I don’t give up, I can be strong.”
※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.
