An Se-young Leads "Sure-Win Card" Strategy as Women's Team Advances to Badminton Quarters... Set to Face Japan

Led by their "sure-win card" An Se-young, the South Korean women's badminton national team has made a strong start in their quest for consecutive Asian Games team titles.

The South Korean women's badminton team, headed by coach Park Joo-bong, defeated Malaysia 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the women's team event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held today (the 22nd) at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Women's singles undisputed top-ranked player An Se-young stepped up as the first singles player, easily defeating world number 28 Letshanaa Karunarathevan 2-0 (21-12, 21-8).

From the early stages of Game 1, An steadily widened the point gap, giving her opponent no room for a comeback and comfortably taking the initiative with a 9-point margin.

Although she started Game 2 by conceding the first three points, she seized the momentum by rattling off six consecutive points from a 4-4 tie.

She then methodically accumulated points through tenacious defense, squashing any lingering hopes of a comeback from her opponent early on.

For the badminton national team, which has set a target of 3 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 2 bronze medals at this tournament, the women's team event is considered one of their most promising gold-medal prospects.

A badminton team match consists of three singles and two doubles matches, with the first country to secure three wins out of the five matches emerging victorious.

While ace An Se-young got off to a flawless start against Malaysia to take the lead, South Korea's second players, women's doubles world number 2 Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na, narrowly lost 0-2 (20-22, 17-21) to world number 5 Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan.

They let go of the lead they held throughout the entirety of Game 1 in the final moments.

After leading 17-14, they conceded three consecutive points to be caught, and eventually handed the first game to their opponents by giving up two points during a nail-biting 20-20 deuce.

In the second game as well, they bowed their heads after failing to turn the tables even once following a 4-4 tie.


Next, women's singles world number 12 Kim Ga-eun defeated world number 38 Wong Ling Ching 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) to tilt the scale of victory back in South Korea's favor, and the doubles pair of Kim Hye-jeong and Kong Hee-yong's replacement rounded it off.

With partner Kong Hee-yong sidelined due to a knee injury, Kim Hye-jeong teamed up with Jeong Na-eun to secure a 2-1 (18-21, 21-11, 24-22) come-from-behind victory against Malaysia's Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing.

The South Korean doubles pair reached the interval trailing 8-11 in the final game, but claimed six straight points to turn the tide at 14-11.

After a nail-biting deuce battle that saw the lead tied eight times, they displayed a burst of late-game stamina to seal the victory.

South Korea will clash with Japan, which advanced by defeating India, for a spot in the finals on the 23rd.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.