(Reporter Kwon Dong-hwan, Xports News) Attention is focused on whether ‘Badminton Empress’ Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance, world No. 1) will be able to win the upcoming 2025 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals.
At this time, BWF selected China’s Wang Zhiyi (world’s second-ranked player) as one of the players who can prevent Ahn Se-young from winning. Wang Zhi-yi, who lost to Ahn Se-young every time this season, attracted attention by claiming that he knows how to beat Ahn Se-young.
BWF reported on the 7th (Korean time), “Ahn Se-young is considered a strong candidate to win, but breaking the record has not been confirmed.”
Seyoung Ahn will participate in the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals to be held in Hangzhou, China on the 17th.
Ahn Se-young, who won 10 international competitions in the 2025 season, will challenge for new history at the World Tour Finals. If he reaches the top of the competition, he will win 11 gold medals this season, tying the record of 11 wins in a single season set by Japanese men’s badminton legend Kento Momota in 2019.
BWF also drew attention to whether Ahn Se-young will break the record, saying, “Ahn Se-young is on the verge of a historic moment by attempting to break Kento Momota’s record for most wins in a single season (11) at the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals.”
At the same time, “Ahn Se-young is considered a strong candidate for the championship, but breaking the record is not confirmed,” he said, highlighting the competitors who will prevent Ahn Se-young from breaking the record.
The players selected by the federation as likely to block Ahn Se-young’s victory are Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (world No. 3) and China’s Wang Zhiyi.
BWF emphasized, “One of Ahn Se-young’s main competitors is Akane Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi is one of the players who has the upper hand in her opponent’s record against Ahn Se-young, and gave Ahn Se-young her only loss of the season in the Korea Open final.”
In addition, he said, “The third strong candidate for the championship is Wang Ziyi, who has shown consistent performance and has advanced to the finals 10 times. Wang Ziyi, who has won the championship three times this year, knows well how to beat Ahn Seyoung, as she has the experience of defeating Ahn Seyoung in the semifinals of last year’s World Tour Finals.”
However, Wang Zhiyi’s record against Ahn Se-young is far behind with 4 wins and 15 losses, and he is showing a very weak showing, having lost all 7 matches against Ahn Se-young, whose skills have improved significantly this season. This raised questions about BWF’s claim that Wang Ziyi knew well how to beat Ahn Se-young.
Yamaguchi’s record against Ahn Se-young is also tied at 15 wins and 15 losses, but he is having difficulties this season, recording 1 win and 4 losses against Ahn Se-young.
Photo = Yonhap News
Reporter Kwon Dong-hwan kkddhh95@xportsnews.com
