(MHN Reporter Lee Hyun-ah) Amidst the variables of world number one Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance) leaving due to injury, Chinese women’s singles star Chen Yufei rose to the top of the Indonesia Masters and reported her first win of the 2026 season.
Chinese media described this win as “a symbolic victory that has reestablished the focus of the national team’s women’s singles.”
Chinese Olympic champion Chen Yufei defeated Thailand’s 19-year-old rookie Vichamon with a set score of 2-0 (23-21, 21-13) in the 2026 Indonesia Masters women’s singles final held at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Gymnasium in Jakarta on the 25th (Korean time).
This win was Chen Yufei’s first title of the season and the only gold medal won by the Chinese badminton team in this tournament.
On the 26th, Chinese media Tencent Sports cited Ahn Se-young’s withdrawal due to injury as the decisive factor that decided the course of this tournament. World No. 1 and biggest competitor Ahn Se-young withdrew during the tournament due to worsening knee and ankle conditions, greatly shaking up the structure of the lower bracket, and top seed Chen Yu-fei advanced to the finals without dropping a single set.
The final was a match worthy of the expression ‘a clash of experience and ambition.’ In the first game, Chen Yufei took the lead with his unique high clear and stable rally operation, but Vichamon followed until the end with explosive speed and strong counterattacks. After a close match that lasted nearly 30 minutes, Chen Yufei took the first set, 23-21, thanks to her skillful management.
The Chinese media analyzed this scene and said, “Chen Yufei’s true strength is not technology, but crisis management ability.” In the second game, the team ended the game relatively easily, showing a clear advantage in back-and-forth control and net play against Vichamon, whose stamina was declining.
This win left many implications for Chinese women’s singles. This is because, in a situation where young athletes such as Wang Zhiyi and Han Yue were eliminated early, Chen Yufei took center stage and re-established his position in the Olympic cycle. An increase in ranking points is also expected to be an important asset in the seed competition for future international competitions.
Meanwhile, Chinese media also gave high praise to Vichamon. “Even though she lost, she is a player with a brighter future,” she said, citing her as a potential variable that could shake up the Asian women’s singles landscape in the next few years. Some even analyzed that “in the long run, he may become Ahn Se-young’s toughest competitor.”
Photo = Badminton World Federation (BWF), MHN DB
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