Ahn Se-young vs Wardani: King of Kings Scare

Ahn Se-young, the world’s best badminton women’s singles player, won her first match at the World Tour Finals. Although they had a bit of a struggle, losing two games to their opponent, they maintained their victory by showing off their skills worthy of being the best in the world.

Se-young Ahn defeated Indonesian Putri Kusuma Wardani (7th in the world) 2-1 (21-16 8-21 21-8) in the first match of Group A of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2025 Women’s Singles Group Stage held at the Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, China on the 17th.

In the first game, Ahn Se-young gave the lead to her opponent, but calmly tied the score at 7-7. Ahn Se-young, who continued to attack and defend, took the first game with 5 points down 16-16. Although there were difficulties in the beginning, Ahn Se-young’s easy victory was predicted.

However, in the second game, Ahn Se-young was greatly shaken. I often slipped on the court. He showed signs of discomfort, requesting floor maintenance several times. The strokes also continued to deviate outside the line. They took a 3-1 lead, but allowed 5 consecutive runs to force a 3-6 lead. Afterwards, Ahn Se-young was unilaterally pushed out. They gave up 10 points in a row at 5-6. They were unable to find any hint of a counterattack and lost 8-21. It was the first time that Ahn Se-young gave up a game without scoring less than 10 points in all games this year.

Ahn Se-young was Ahn Se-young. In the last three games, they pushed their opponents as if they were determined to do so. They took the lead early, winning 6 points from the start. They changed courts with an 11-1, 10-point lead. Even after returning to the court, which had been uncomfortable for the entire two games, Ahn Se-young did not allow the opponent any room to pursue. The offensive continued until the end. 21-8, repaying the score of the previous game, winning 3 games and confirming victory.

Seyoung Ahn will attempt to win her 11th win of the season at the World Tour Finals, the last competition of the year. The World Tour Finals is a ‘King of Kings’-like competition in which only two players from each country and the top eight players from around the world participate. Seyoung Ahn was placed in Group A along with Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (3rd) and Tomoya Miyazaki (9th), in addition to Wardani, who she faced on this day. The top two players from the group stage advance to the semifinals. Ahn Se-young will play the second and third group stage matches against Miyazaki on the 18th and Yamaguchi on the 19th.

Reporter Shim Jin-yong sim@kyunghyang.com