(Reporter Kwon Dong-hwan, Xports News) The Badminton World Federation (BWF) could not help but be impressed by the record achieved by ‘Badminton Empress’ Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance, world number one).
BWF said on the 31st (Korean time) through its official social networking service (SNS) account, “Ahn Se-young, who is only 23 years old, has set a new record.”
BWF explained, “There are 10 tournaments in the World Tour, consisting of Super 1000 and Super 750. So far, no singles player has won all 10 tournaments. This is the same for Lin Dan (China) and Lee Chongwei (Malaysia).”
Lin Dan and Lee Chong-wei are like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in soccer. Lin Dan won the Olympic Games twice (2008, 2012) and the World Championships five times. Li Chongwei was behind Lin Dan, winning three Olympic silver medals (2008, 2012, 2016) and three World Championship silver medals, but he was in the same era as Lin Dan, so he was not lucky, but his skills were among the best in the world. Lee Chong Wei was ranked No. 1 in the BWF men’s singles world rankings for 199 weeks during his active career.
BWF praised Ahn Se-young for achieving a record that even Lin Dan and Lee Chong-wei could not achieve.
BWF added, “Things have changed since Ahn Se-young recently won the Denmark Open. This is a special achievement.”
BWF divides international competitions into Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and Super 100 depending on the size of the prize money.
There are Super 1000 Yen All England Open, China Open, Malaysia Open, and Indonesia Open. The India Open, Japan Open, China Masters, Denmark Open, French Open and Singapore Open are Super 750.
Until now, no singles player, male or female, has won all 10 Super 1000 and 750 competitions.
However, Se-young Ahn reached the top of the Denmark Open (Super 750) on the 19th, becoming the first badminton singles player to win both the Super 1000 and Super 750 competitions.
In addition, BWF expressed their admiration, saying, “What’s even more surprising is that Ahn Se-young is only 23 years old, and she has won more than two times in 8 of the 10 tournaments. She is truly an amazing player.”
Se-young Ahn succeeded in winning two consecutive tournaments by reaching the top of the All England Open, Indonesia Open, Malaysia Open, China Masters, Japan Open, India Open, and French Open in the 2025 season. The Singapore Open won the tournament in succession in 2023 and 2024.
Meanwhile, Ahn Se-young is now attempting another great record.
Seyoung Ahn plans to prepare for the Australian Open (Super 500) in November and the World Tour Finals in December. If Ahn Se-young wins both of the remaining two competitions, he will tie the record of 11 wins in a single season set by Japanese men’s badminton legend Kento Momota in 2019.
Photo = Xports News DB / Yonhap News
Reporter Kwon Dong-hwan kkddhh95@xportsnews.com
