Ahn Se-young, who has won the championship for two consecutive weeks since the beginning of 2026, is predicting an exciting ceremony this year as well. Ahn Se-young cheers after winning the gold medal at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou. Channel A material
Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), a horse born in the new year who gallops like a red horse, can take a breather. This is because the Badminton International Federation (BWF) recently approved a change in the schedule of the Korea Open, the country’s top international competition, allowing the team to focus on winning two women’s singles gold medals for the second straight time at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games in Japan.
The story is like this. Originally, the Korea Open was scheduled to be held in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do from September 8 to 13. Park Joo-bong, coach of the Korean badminton team, has expressed concerns about this schedule since the end of last year. Coach Park Joo-bong, who made a name for himself as the king of shuttlecocks during his career, took over as head coach of the Korean national team from the beginning of last year and established a long-term plan to maximize the players’ power step by step.
However, looking at the 2026 season schedule announced by BWF, they confirmed that the Korea Open would be held right before the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games in Japan, and quickly began preparing measures with Kim Dong-moon, president of the Korea Badminton Association. This is because the Asian Games will be held from September 19th to October 4th.
Ahn Se-young’s greatest strength is his tenacious defense that makes his opponents hesitate.
Ahn Se-young aims to win two gold medals in the women’s singles and women’s team event at the Asian Games. In the finals of the women’s singles at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, Ahn Se-young defeated Chen Yu-fei and rose to the top. The Korean women’s national team, led by Ahn Se-young, tore down the Great Wall of China in the team finals and won the gold medal for the first time in 29 years. Ahn Se-young is on the hunt for two consecutive wins at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games, becoming the first Korean badminton player to do so. At that time, Ahn Se-young was impressed by her indomitable will while suffering from a ruptured tendon near her knee.
Although we must do our best to achieve a grand goal, it became inevitable that we would have to do our best for the Korea Open held at home and then go to Japan next week to play in the Asian Games. In addition, a major competition called the World Individual Championships will be held in New Delhi, India from August 17th to 23rd, so it may be difficult to control your condition.
Park Joo-bong, coach of the Korean badminton team, and Kim Dong-moon, president of the Korea Badminton Association.
The Korea Badminton Association, led by Chairman Kim Dong-moon, who won two gold medals at the Olympics, carried out active sports diplomacy activities against the BWF and moved the Korea Open from November 3 to 8. In November, an international competition called the Korea Masters was originally scheduled to feature promising players rather than Korea’s top players, but the Korea Open was put in its place. Instead, the Korea Masters was changed to August 4-9.
Coach Park Joo-bong said, “I am fortunate that we were able to prepare well for the Asian Games by doing our best.”
Ahn Se-young got off to a good start at the beginning of the year by successively reaching the top of the Malaysia Open and India Open. Starting from the Denmark Open in October of last year, he has achieved the feat of winning 6 consecutive competitions, with a 30-game winning streak.
For Ahn Se-young, this year’s Korea Open is a stage where she shows extraordinary determination. At the Korea Open held in Suwon last year, she received enthusiastic support from a packed crowd, but she lost 0-2 to Akane Yamaguchi in the final and finished second.
This year’s Korea Open has been decided to be held in Yeosu, which successfully hosted the event, but the possibility of a change in location is also being raised. This is because it is pointed out that Yeosu’s stadium does not meet the BWF’s requirements to host a Super 500 level tournament such as the Korea Open. You must receive a general inspection of stadium conditions, practice grounds, and accommodation conditions.
The team, including Ahn Se-young, won the women’s team gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games after defeating China for the first time in 29 years. Ahn Se-young won two gold medals in women’s singles.
Seung-jae Seo and Won-ho Kim are aiming for the men’s doubles gold medal at the Asian Games. Provided by Yonex Korea
This year’s major international badminton competitions include the Asian Games, the World Individual Championships, and the World Men’s and Women’s Team Championships (Thomas Uber Cup) in April. The Asian Games, which will be of particular interest, has seven gold medals at stake, including men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles, and men’s and women’s team event. Korea considers Ahn Se-young, Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho as strong gold medal candidates and is raising expectations for gold in the women’s team event and women’s doubles. At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Kim Won-ho teamed up with Choi Sol-gyu to win a silver medal. This is the first Asian Games with golden combination Seo Seung-jae. Powerhouse China is aiming to win the men’s and women’s team event simultaneously, and Japan is also trying to take advantage of its home court advantage to win the championship.
The ‘Emperor of Golf’ Tiger Woods coined a new word called ‘Tigerphobia’ during his heyday. This is because the opposing players collapsed one after another as if they were terrified when they met Woods on the last day. Now, there has been a ‘SY phobia’ named after the initials of Ahn Se-young, who has emerged as an absolute powerhouse on the badminton court. However, preventing injuries is an essential task in the intense tour life that travels all corners of the globe. It seems that the schedule change will make Ahn Se-young’s steps lighter.
Kim Jong-seok, Deputy Director of Channel A (Former Dong-A Ilbo Sports Department Director)
[기사제보 tennis@tennis.co.kr]
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