SEOUL, Dec 22 (Yonhap) — South Korean badminton star An Se-young won his record-tying 11th international title of the season in China on Sunday. The world number one and 2024 Summer Olympics gold medalist defeated China’s Wang Zhiyi 2 sets to 1 (21-13, 18-21, 21-10) to win the women’s singles title of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center gymnasium.
This victory also allows An to equal the Japanese Kento Momota in number of international titles won in the same season. “I doubted my abilities to really achieve an 11th victory,” confided the South Korean just after her 96-minute match against Wang. “I think my conviction was stronger than these doubts.”
This year, An managed to reach the finals of 12 of the 15 tournaments she participated in on the BWF World Tour. The only final she missed was against Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi at the Korea Open in September. The World Tour Finals, which close the season, are reserved for the eight best singles players, for men and women, as well as the eight best doubles pairs of the moment.
Badminton player An Se-young at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Tuesday, March 19, 2025, after winning the women’s singles event at the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships at the BWF World Tour Super 100 in Birmingham, England. (Yonhap file photo)
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(FIN)
