Women's singles undisputed powerhouse An Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) cruised into the Asian Games semifinals, taking a major step toward the first successful title defense in the history of the tournament.

World No. 1 in women's singles An Se-young defeated world No. 5 Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) 2-0 (21-8, 21-9) in the women's singles quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held today (September 27) at the Ichinomiya City Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Having navigated a grueling schedule yesterday by playing both the round of 32 and the round of 16 on the same day, An easily brushed aside veteran world No. 5 Intanon in just 33 minutes in today's quarterfinals.

She quickly took control of the match by conceding only 8 points in the first game, and neatly wrapped up the victory in the second game by allowing just 9 points.

With this win, An continues her dominant momentum this year, recording just 1 loss against 52 wins out of 53 matches played.

Widely regarded as the top favorite to win the championship in this tournament as well, An is challenging to make new history.

Having swept both the team and singles events at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, if An reaches the top of the singles podium in this tournament, she will achieve the unprecedented feat of consecutive titles in Asian Games women's singles badminton for the first time in history.

In the semifinals, An will face the winner of the match between world No. 4 Chen Yufei (China) and world No. 11 Pusarla Sindhu (India).

Meanwhile, men's doubles world No. 1 Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho also clinched a thrilling 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 21-15) comeback victory against Japan's Hiroki Nishi and Kakeru Kumagai (world No. 20) in their quarterfinal match held today.

Having struggled and given up momentum while trailing throughout the first game, they turned the tide by reeling off 10 consecutive points from a 3-5 deficit in the second game, eventually fending off a fierce late charge from the Japanese pair to level the match.

Even in the final game, while trailing 12-13, they secured victory with 5 straight points, bringing an end to a grueling 1-hour and 9-minute battle.

Although they failed to capture titles in their last 6 tournaments after winning 11 crowns last season to tie the record for most wins in a single season, they are determined to use the Asian Games stage to restore their pride.

Women's doubles world No. 2 Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na also joined the semifinals by defeating Chinese Taipei's Hsu Yin-hui and Lin Jhih-yun 2-0 (22-20, 21-17).

After taking the initiative following a tight deuce battle in the first game, they secured a clean sweep by widening the gap with 4 consecutive points from a 14-13 lead in the second game.

(Photo: Yonhap News)