Ahn Se-young & Shin Yu-bin: Badminton Duo’s Busy Holiday Schedule

[서울=뉴스핌] Reporter Park Sang-wook = Ahn Se-young and Shin Yu-bin, who dominated the world in 2025 with their rackets, have no time to rest even during the year-end and New Year holidays. Both are already playing for next season. This is because it is more difficult to stay at the top than to reach the top.

Ahn Se-young ended 2025 as her year by defeating world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi in the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Final held in Hangzhou, China on the 21st, setting numerous milestones. There is no time to enjoy the celebration for long. The first competition of the new season is just two weeks away.

He will participate in the Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on January 7th. It is a BWF World Tour Super 1000 level competition and is the highest stage with the most ranking points and prize money. This is the first gateway to the ‘Super 1000 Slam’, which Ahn Se-young has set as her goal this year. The ‘Super 1000 Slam’ is a record of winning all four Super 1000 tournaments in one season, starting with the Malaysia Open, All England Open, Indonesia Open, and China Open. Since no one has been able to do it yet, it has become the ‘Shuttlecock Empress’s’ New Year’s challenge.

Then, they will play in the India Open (Super 750) on January 13th. Afterwards, the schedule is full, including the All England Open, the Asian Championships or Uber Cup, the Singapore Open and Indonesia Open, the Japan/China Open and World Championships in the summer, and the Aichi/Nagoya Asian Games in September.

Shin Yubin’s year-end and New Year holidays are also busy. Shin Yu-bin, who teamed up to win the mixed doubles title with Lim Jong-hoon at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Finals held in Hong Kong in the middle of this month, will have a meaningful event at the end of the year. We will attend the 2nd National Youth Table Tennis Festival with Shin Yu-bin and Dangjin City held at the Dangjin Gymnasium in South Chungcheong Province for two days starting on the 27th.

Shin Yu-bin plans to visit the stadium in person on the opening day of the competition and spend time with table tennis players from 1st to 5th grade of elementary school from all over the country. 188 youth players will participate in this competition. Shin Yu-bin was present at the first event last year, and after the event, she presented rackets to 289 table tennis dreamers, including participating players.

After finishing the youth festival, we immediately prepare for the international stage. He will leave the country on January 5th and participate in the WTT Champions Doha 2026, which will be held in Doha, Qatar from the 7th to the 11th. It is a high-level tournament next to Grand Smash, and only singles events are held, and only 32 men and women are invited. Top Chinese rankers such as Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, and even Miwa Harimoto will all participate.

Shin Yu-bin will then participate in the WTT Star Contender Doha, which will be held at the same venue from the 13th to the 18th. She competes in all three events: singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. In women’s doubles, it is her first time working with Joo Chun-hee. In mixed doubles, he will join hands with Lim Jong-hoon again and aim for his first win of the new season.

psoq1337@newspim.com