"Unrivaled Skill, Shocking"... An Se-young on the Path to Becoming a 'Legend'

[Anchor]

An Se-young is the first player to win the Asian Games women's singles title twice. She is already regarded as the greatest player in the history of women's badminton.

Reporter Han Sung-hee has the story.

[Reporter]

Legends of women's singles—such as Indonesia's Susi Susanti, hailed as the greatest player of the 1990s; China's Zhang Ning, who achieved two consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 2000s; and Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying, who maintained the world number one spot for 214 weeks—all failed to achieve a "long-term reign" at the Asian Games.

Far from winning two consecutive titles, not a single player has reached the top twice, with 16 different champions crowned across the past 16 editions of the tournament.

This is why An Se-young's back-to-back Asian Games titles stand as another dazzling milestone destined to endure in world badminton history.

[An Se-young / National Badminton Team : I am so proud to be able to continue writing those records, but at the same time, I still have a lot to do. I still think I am young, so I am looking forward to what I will do in the future.]

With her impenetrable defense rated the best in history, alongside elevated sharp attacking power and seasoned game management, An Se-young's 2026 is being recorded as an "immortal season" that no one can rival.

Charging forward with a recent 40-match winning streak, she has suffered just one defeat out of 57 matches this season, boasting a 98.2% win rate that easily surpasses the record 94.8% win rate for both men's and women's singles that she set herself last year.

After sweeping 11 tournaments last season to tie the record for the most wins in a single season for men's and women's singles, An Se-young has already claimed the top spot 8 times this season. With her expected participation in 5 or more upcoming tournaments, setting a new all-time record for most wins is widely anticipated.

Competitors shake their heads in disbelief, to the point where the saying goes, "Whoever faces An Se-young the latest in the draw wins the silver medal."

[Yamaguchi Akane / Japanese National Team (Final Opponent) : If you ask what makes her exceptional, honestly, it is everything. We cannot just keep saying there is nothing we can do as players, but for now, there seems to be nothing else to say.]

Following An Se-young's sweeping victory against their compatriot, local Japanese media reported reactions of "shock," stating she has "unrivaled skill."

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video reporting: Park Hyun-chul, Yang Doo-won / Video editing: Park Ki-deuk)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.