(Xports News Reporter Jun-seok Yoon) “Ahn Se-young is like Rafael Nadal on a clay court.”
The world of badminton is once again holding its tongue over the overwhelming presence of Ahn Se-young, the star of Korean badminton.
The greatest sports star in history is being compared to Ahn Se-young. Following Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal appeared this time.
Ahn Se-young, world number one in women’s singles, defeated world number two Wang Zhiyi (China) 2-0 (21-13, 21-11) in 43 minutes in the final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 India Open held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India on the 18th (Korean time), achieving her second consecutive title in the tournament.
Ahn Se-young did not lose control from the beginning of the game. After setting the trend with consecutive scores from the beginning of the first game, they widened the gap with stable defense and sharp offense to win, and also overwhelmed Wang Zhiyi in the second game, ending the game at the end of a one-sided game. With this loss, Wang Zhiyi has suffered 10 consecutive losses to Ahn Se-young.
In response to such solo play, ‘India Today’, a leading local media outlet in India, focused on Ahn Se-young’s solo system in a long analysis article titled “Meet Ahn Se-young, the badminton star who can never be defeated, like Nadal on the clay court” on the 19th.
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According to reports, Bimal Kumar, a former member of the Indian badminton team, said of Ahn Se-young through the media, “It’s similar to the feeling players have when facing Rafael Nadal on a clay court. Every ball comes back.”
Spanish tennis player Nadal is particularly strong on clay courts, winning the French Open (major clay court tournament) 14 times. For this reason, he is called the ‘King of the Clay Court’ and ‘The God of Clay’.
It is an expression of the metaphor that the feeling of dealing with Ahn Se-young is that desperate.
In particular, Kumar cited Ahn Se-young’s greatest strengths as his ability to manage the game and control the length of his shots. He explained, “Badminton is a technical and physical sport. You have to be strong. But Ahn Se-young has the perfect balance of those two elements. She can withstand long rallies and makes constructive rallies rather than simply passing the shuttle. She puts pressure on her opponent with consistent shot making.”
He added, “Her biggest strength is her ability to perfectly maintain the length of the shot,” adding, “She maintains the correct length regardless of whether the wind is blowing or headwinds. Even at the net, she deceives the opponent and sends the shuttle to the back of the court, and many players don’t know how to respond in such a situation.”
He also analyzed, “Her ability to inject speed at the right moment, excellent anticipation, and overwhelming footwork are also her strengths,” adding, “Because of this, many players feel extreme frustration during the game.”
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Earlier, on the 17th, when Ahn Se-young easily defeated Putri Kusuma Wardani (Indonesia, ranked 6th in the world) in the semifinals of the India Open, the BWF English broadcaster said, “A player like Ahn Se-young, who has completely dominated women’s badminton for the past year and a half, is an intimidating figure to the opponent. The opponent must brainwash himself into thinking, ‘He is just another player.’ “I remember a golfer I was competing with answering the question, ‘Aren’t you scared of Tiger Woods?’ by saying, ‘He also wears his pants from one leg down.’ We need to respect him, but not be intimidated by him.”
This meant that the current Ahn Se-young is like Woods in women’s badminton.
Two days after the formula ‘Ahn Se-young = Woods’ came out, ‘Ahn Se-young = Nadal’ also appeared this time.
Meanwhile, Ahn Se-young returns to Korea on the afternoon of the 19th with the Korean badminton team. Ahn Se-young, who left Incheon International Airport on the 31st of last year and welcomed the New Year on a plane, won both titles, including the Malaysia Open (Super 1000) and India Open, which she had set for, and gave a great gift to the people starting in the new year.
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After taking a break this month, Ahn Se-young will prepare for the Asian Team Badminton Championships in February. First of all, you have already made it to the entry level. Next, he will play the German Open (Super 300) at the end of February, and in March he will challenge for his second consecutive victory in the All England Open (Super 1000), a tradition with a 127-year history.
Photo = Yonhap News / SNS
Reporter Junseok Yoon jupremebd@xportsnews.com
The categories of this article follow the classification of media outlets.
