Shuttlecock Queen Shaken: 11th Coronation Drama

The coronation of the ‘Shuttlecock Queen’ begins. Ahn Se-young (23, Samsung Life Insurance), world number one in badminton women’s singles, will compete in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals held at the Hangzhou Olympic Center in Hangzhou, China for five days starting on the 17th. It is a king-of-the-match competition in which the eight players (teams) who achieved the best results this season in a total of five events, including men’s and women’s singles and mixed doubles, will participate.

Ahn Se-young, who has won 10 wins in 18 international competitions this season, is determined to establish herself as the undisputed ‘Queen’ by winning this competition. To achieve this, we first change the uniform. Instead of the two-piece uniform of short-sleeved top and skirt bottoms that she always wears, she goes on court wearing a one-piece uniform that emphasizes femininity. Two colors are available: ivory and khaki. To fans, it could be considered the queen’s evening dress at a badminton party.

A Yonex official who produced the new uniform said, “We decided on the design to actively reflect the intention of players who enjoy trying new things,” and explained, “It was a very intentional decision to introduce the new uniform in the final game of the season and a competition where many milestones are at stake. From a performance perspective, the new A-line skirt type uniform is sleeveless, so arm movement is much more free.”

Ahn Se-young’s goal is of course to win, but for fans, the point of interest is whether or not she will create a record that will remain in history. If she wins the finals, she will surpass her own record for most wins in a single season in women’s singles (10 wins). In addition, he ties the BWF record for most wins in a single season (11 wins) set by Kento Momota (Japan) in men’s singles in 2019.

Ahn Se-young, who won the World Badminton Federation’s Female Player of the Year award, will challenge to win the season’s King of Kings Championship. [연합뉴스]

Winning rate is as much of interest as multiple wins. This year, Ahn Se-young achieved 68 wins (4 losses) in 72 games. The win rate is 94.44%. It has already surpassed the previous record (92.75%, 64 wins, 5 losses) set by Lin Dan (China) in men’s singles in 2011. In this tournament, eight players (or teams) are divided into two groups and play in the group stage, and then the top two players from each group advance to the semifinals. If you reach the top, you can increase your winning rate to 94.80% (73 wins, 4 losses) by adding 5 wins.

Another important point to watch is whether Ahn Se-young will surpass $1 million in season prize money for the first time in badminton history. Ahead of the finals, he is recording $763,175 (about 1.12 billion won), and if he adds the prize money of $240,000 for winning this tournament, he will reach the unprecedented $1 million mark.

Ahn Se-young, who became the first woman in history to win the Female Athlete of the Year award three times in a row at the BWF Gala Awards on the 15th, is a recognized star of this tournament. On the 16th, the BWF website expressed expectations, saying, “Ahn Se-young has not missed the top spot in the women’s singles world rankings even for a single day this season. If she occupies the World Tour Finals, she will become the undisputed powerhouse in name and reality. In badminton, various records have remained unchanged for the past 10 years. Fans are hoping that Ahn Se-young will quench their long-standing ‘thirst for a new record.'”

Meanwhile, the men’s doubles team of Seo Seung-jae (28) and Kim Won-ho (26, Samsung Life Insurance) is also challenging the record for the most wins in a single season. The two players, who recorded 10 wins alongside Ahn Se-young this year, are determined to reach 11 wins together on the World Tour Finals stage. BWF introduced, “What makes this year’s World Tour more interesting is the variety of record-chasers,” adding, “The challenge of the Korean men’s doubles pair of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho is just as interesting as Ahn Se-young.”