Ahn Se-young: Badminton Legend & China’s Rising Concern

[OSEN=강필주 기자] Chinese badminton is concerned about the unavoidable dominance of Ahn Se-young (23, Samsung Life Insurance).

World No. 1 Ahn Se-young defeated world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi (25, China) with a set score of 2-1 (21-13, 18-21, 21-10) in the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2025 held at the Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, China on the 21st.

It was a fierce battle for 96 minutes, but Ahn Se-young completely dominated the final set, 21-10. Despite the pain of not being able to stand properly due to left thigh cramps, Ahn Se-young ended the match by successfully hitting a smash at a large angle where Wang Ziyi’s racket did not reach.

With this victory, Ahn Se-young lifted the 11th championship trophy this season. This is on par with the record for most wins in a single season held by Kento Momota (Japan) in men’s singles in 2019.

[사진] Provided by Korea Badminton Association

Ahn Se-young recorded the highest single-season win rate of 94.80% (73 wins in 77 games) in history. The highest win rate in a single season of all time was 92.75% (64 wins, 5 losses), which was held by badminton’s ‘Messi’ Lin Dan (China) and ‘Ronaldo’ Lee Chong-wei (Malaysia).

The season prize money also exceeded $1 million for the first time. Through this season, Ahn Se-young turned the history of men’s and women’s badminton upside down and was recognized as GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), both in name and reality.

BWF praised Ahn Se-young through official social media (SNS) with the phrase “The best! The YOUNG GOAT!” and made it public that he was the GOAT. Moreover, the word ‘YOUNG’ was added to emphasize that a career is a progression rather than a peak.

In an interview upon returning to Korea on the 22nd, Ahn Se-young expressed confidence, saying, “I think my prime is when I play a perfect game,” and “I haven’t reached my prime yet. If I keep working hard, I can achieve better results than now.”

[사진] BWF

[사진] Provided by Korea Badminton Association

China also had no choice but to acknowledge Ahn Se-young’s skills. A column published in the Chinese portal ‘QQ’ praised Ahn Se-young, saying, “Ahn Se-young defined what it means to be a ‘unrivaled presence in the badminton world.'”

This column emphasized, “This season, Ahn Se-young deserves to be called the most persuasive ‘peak model’ in badminton history,” and “She participated in 16 international competitions this year and swept 11 championship trophies.”

In particular, Seungryul was surprised to see Ahn Se-young as a milestone in badminton history. It was highlighted that the winning rate of 94.80% even exceeded Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)’s 94.44% (51 wins in 54 games), which was the highest winning rate based on 50 or more wins. This is the highest winning percentage in badminton history.

The total prize money for the season also reached $1,003,175 (about 1.46 billion won), making him the first player in badminton history to exceed $1 million in prize money in a single season. He added that the value of his skills was proven through the prize money.

[사진] Provided by Korea Badminton Association

Ahn Se-young suffered 4 losses this season. Seyoung Ahn lost twice to Chen Yufei (China) in the quarterfinals of the Singapore Open and the semifinals of the World Championships. She lost to Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) in the finals of the Korea Open, and lost to Han Yue (China) due to injury in the semifinals of the China Open.

This column expressed concern by emphasizing that this defeat symbolized Ahn Se-young’s dominance. Ahn Se-young, Wang Zhi-yi (China), Chen Yu-fei, and Yamaguchi make up the ‘four kings of women’s singles,’ but that balance has been broken through this season.

Ahn Se-young faced Chen Yu-fei 7 times this season and achieved 5 wins, balancing his opponent’s record with 15 wins and 15 losses, while he overturned his overall record with Yamaguchi with 17 wins and 15 losses through this final. Against Wang Ziyi, he is on an 8-game winning streak this season, and Han Yue is no match for him.

[사진] BWF

[사진]OSEN DB.

The column highlighted that Ahn Se-young is proving his absolute superiority by being ahead of the top level, especially his top rivals. It means that 23-year-old Ahn Se-young, who shouts, “I haven’t even reached my prime yet,” is afraid of how much more scary she will become in the future.

Ahn Se-young is evaluated as having ‘his stability and offensive and defensive abilities are already half that of male players.’ Ahn Se-young gained a reputation as a ‘genius girl’ when she entered the Korean national team as a middle school student in 2017, but now she has become more solid with added effort.

[사진] BWF

The column said, “Ahn Se-young lost several times to top players such as Chen Yu-fei and Akane Yamaguchi, but he did not stop evolving,” and added, “Even after reaching the top of the world, Ahn Se-young did not lose humility and spirit of challenge.”

At the same time, I recalled that Ahn Se-young refused to be called a ‘genius girl’ and said, “I came this far by constantly improving myself, watching many games, meeting challenges, and gaining experience.”

[사진]OSEN DB.

Lastly, the column praised these efforts for transforming Ahn Se-young from a girl genius into a badminton ruler, and repeatedly praised, “The dominant performance of the 2025 season is an inevitable result of many years of accumulation.” /[email protected]

Kang Pil-ju ([email protected])