Badminton Star An Se-young Starts Drive for 11th Season Win at Home

An Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), eyeing her 11th singles title of the season at home with a phenomenal win rate exceeding 98 percent, has easily cleared her first hurdle.

World No. 1 in women's singles An completely overpowered 38th-ranked Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria 2-0 (21-6, 21-8) in just 39 minutes during the Round of 32 at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Korea Open Super 500 tournament held at Jinnam Gymnasium in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, today (November 4).

Having deliberated on whether to compete in the tournament until just prior due to a grueling series of matches, An brushed off any physical concerns and thoroughly dominated her opponent on the back of enthusiastic support from home fans.

Scoring six consecutive points right at the start of the first game, An easily gained the upper hand by rattling off eight unanswered points while leading 13-6.

In the second game as well, she showcased an overwhelming gap in skill, securing the interval at 11-1 and quashing any hopes of a comeback before sealing her spot in the Round of 16.

Aside from a single defeat to Wang Zhiyi (No. 3, China) this season, An has strung together a 51-match winning streak.

Her record for the year stands at 67 wins and 1 loss out of 68 matches, translating to a winning percentage of 98.5 percent.


At this Korea Open, the only BWF World Tour event held in South Korea, An is challenging for yet another milestone.

After becoming the first women's singles player to successfully defend her Asian Games title last September, An embarked on a European tour following a brief rest, claiming the top spot for two consecutive weeks to harvest her 10th win of the season.

If she captures the Korea Open title as well, she will tie her own record set last season for the most single-season titles in history for either men's or women's singles.

Her outlook for the championship is bright.

With top-ranked Chinese players such as Wang Zhiyi and Chen Yufei (No. 4) sitting out, No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan is considered her primary potential opponent in the final.

Yamaguchi advanced to the Round of 16 by overcoming Loh Sin Yann Happy of Singapore 2-1 (12-21, 21-13, 21-15) in a come-from-behind victory.

Yamaguchi handed An a defeat in last year's Korea Open final, but An currently holds an absolute advantage with a 10-match winning streak in their head-to-head encounters.

Meanwhile, men's singles hopeful Yoo Tae-bin (No. 37, Gimcheon City Hall), who sparked a sensation by sequentially defeating top-tier players to win a bronze medal at the Asian Games, along with the world No. 1 men's doubles pair Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho (both of Samsung Life Insurance), have also safely secured their places in the Round of 16.

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