(Reporter Kim Hwan, Xports News) The total prize money earned by Ahn Se-young, who is evaluated to have shown the best performance that a badminton player can show in a single season by winning 10 competitions this season alone, is about 760,000 dollars (about 1.121 billion won).
Although the scale of the badminton industry itself is not large, $760,000 is considered to be an insufficient amount of prize money for a player who is becoming the best badminton player in history. Even in China, Ahn Se-young is lamenting the amount of prize money she received this season.
Chinese media ‘Sina Sports’ said on the 6th (Korean time), “28.1 billion won for Ahn Se-young? You shouldn’t even think about it, it’s only 1.1 billion won. Protests demanding fair compensation are getting stronger.” The world praises Ahn Se-young’s skills, but the compensation that comes with it is becoming more and more unbalanced and controversial. Despite the overwhelming performance, historical record, and unprecedented record of winning 10 times in a single season, Ahn Se-young’s prize money is unlike any other. “It is causing controversy because it is significantly lower than the stock,” he said.
Ahn Se-young won a total of 10 competitions this year, surpassing the record of 9 wins she set in 2023 and creating a new history for the most wins in a single season. Ahn Se-young’s record is 68 wins and 4 losses (94.4% winning rate). Although it remains regrettable that she did not win the World Championships in Paris, France, the world still believes that Ahn Se-young has become a player who it would not be surprising if she rose to the ranks of the best of all time through this season.
However, the prevailing opinion is that the prize money that comes with Ahn Se-young’s win is far short of her skills.
If Ahn Se-young reaches the top at the 2025 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals held in Hangzhou, China on the 17th, she will add $240,000 (approximately 354 million won) and become the first player for both men and women to earn $1 million (approximately 1.475 billion won) in prize money in a single season. However, this is also evaluated as being far short of Ahn Se-young’s performance.
‘Sina Sports’ said, “Ahn Se-young received a surprisingly small amount of prize money compared to her overwhelming season,” and “It was a stark contrast to other top sports (tennis player Yannick Sinner’s annual salary of more than 28.1 billion won), and some fans strongly opposed it.”
According to ‘Sina Sports’, even the Chinese fans who keep Ahn Se-young in check regretted that “I was frustrated and fell into despair several times because of Ahn Se-young, but the badminton prize money system did not give Ahn Se-young the compensation she deserved.”
The media said, “It must be taken into account that badminton itself is a sport with a relatively low prize structure. However, this amount is not enough for a player who has achieved an overwhelming milestone with 10 wins in a single season, close to 70 wins, and a historic winning percentage,” and said Ahn Se-young is not receiving a lot of prize money compared to her skills.
He added, “The characteristics of badminton, which has a strong amateur base, the prize distribution structure, and the relatively low rate of return compared to the world tour schedule were also pointed out as problems. It is difficult to maintain top skills due to the large number of games, but the compensation received by top players is insufficient to compensate for their hard work.”
‘Sina Sports’ praised Ahn Se-young, saying, “Despite this reality, Ahn Se-young is unwavering,” adding, “Ahn Se-young is internationally recognized as a perfect player with a focus on winning and losing, an outstanding sense of the game, a strong mentality, and a perfect balance between technique and physical strength. Even Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian fans have no choice but to acknowledge Ahn Se-young despite losing to Ahn Se-young. The person who holds this position is Korea’s Ahn Se-young.”
Photo = Yonhap News
Reporter Kim Hwan [email protected]
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