Ahn Se-young: Badminton’s Rising Star Dominates Rivals

[마이데일리 = 심혜진 기자] Competitors were amazed at the performance of Ahn Se-young, world number one in badminton women’s singles.

India’s The New Indian Express reported on the 18th (Korea time), “Ahn Se-young continued to embarrass his rivals.”

Ahn Se-young defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Inthanon with a game score of 2-0 (21-11, 21-7) in the women’s singles semifinals of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour India Open (Super 750) held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India on the 17th.

With this, Ahn Se-young succeeded in reaching the finals of two consecutive competitions. The opponent is Wang Zhi of China, whom we met in the previous match. Once again competing for the championship.

Se-young Ahn defeated world number 8 Ratchanok Inthanon in the semifinals in just 32 minutes.

According to the media, although he was unable to use his strength against Ahn Se-young and lost, Ratchanok Inthanon looked relatively bright after the game.

Intanon said, “Ahn Se-young plays in a completely different style when she plays against other players and when she plays against me. I couldn’t keep up with the speed of her game. If I try to speed up while thinking about how to become faster, I end up making mistakes.”

He also expressed his reverence for Ahn Se-young.

Intanon admired, “Ahn Se-young is the strongest. The physical elements required for women’s singles are completely different from five years ago. I feel like I have to learn from the beginning.”

Michelle Lee, who won a game against Ahn Se-young in the round of 32 of the Malaysia Open, also shook her head and said, “Even though I have great physical ability, it’s hard to win with that alone. If I want to beat her, I have to have all the mental aspects as well. Ahn Se-young is a really difficult player to play against.”

The evaluations of other competitors are no different. Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmore (World No. 30) praised Ahn Se-young, saying, “Ahn Se-young is incredible. She is a player who may or may not come along once in a generation.”