Ahn Se-young: China Season Opener & ‘Four Spears’ Strategy

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2026.01.05 04:57
2026.01.05 05:43
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Kim Dong-moon,president of the Korea Badminton Association,also said,“Isn’t it true that they are trying to change the rules because there is no player who can beat Ahn Se-young? All of our players,including Ahn Se-young,are high-ranking players,so if the method is different from before,we will be at a disadvantage.”

However, Chairman Kim said, “There will be an impact in the early stages of implementation. As with any change, it takes time to adapt. All players are equal,” adding, “However, since our players have good skills, it is a problem that can be easily overcome if they adapt.”

Recently, BWF analyzed the 2026 season women’s singles outlook presented on its official website, saying, “Currently, there are only about four strong rivals in the world who can stop Ahn Se-young’s dominance.”

As expected, ahn Se-young participated in 15 competitions last year and won 11 championship trophies. In 2019, he tied the record for most wins in a single season held by Kento Momota (Japan) in men’s singles. The prize money for a single season also exceeded $1 million for the first time in history.

In addition, Ahn Se-young recorded 73 wins (4 losses) in 77 games, raising the winning rate to 94.8%. This figure far exceeds the highest single-season win rate of 92.75% (64 wins, 5 losses) held by male legends Lin Dan (China) and Lee Chongwei (Malaysia). He certified himself as an ‘absolutely strong man.’

As the object of comparison to Ahn Se-young disappears, this atmosphere is expected to continue in 2026. Therefore, we can see that the challengers will continue to be kept in check starting from the Malaysia Open, the first tournament of the season.

The bracket for the first competition was strangely planned. Starting in the round of 32, she will clash with Michelle Lee (Canada), ranked 12th in the world. Ahn Se-young has an overwhelming record of 8 wins against her opponents.

Though, Chinese-Canadian Li is on the rise, reaching the semifinals at the Hong Kong Open and Australian Open last year. Considering the schedule that will follow, we have no choice but to relax from the start.

If she surpasses Lee, there is a high possibility that she will meet Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) in the round of 16. Okuhara won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has the skills and experience to rise to number one in the world. He is a difficult figure as he took 3rd place in the previous All Japan Championships.

It seems likely that they will clash with Hanyue (China) in the quarterfinals. Of course, Ahn Se-young is overwhelming, but Hanwe is growing in skill every day. In the semifinals, Chen Yufei (China) is expected to try to block it.

This is Chen Yu-pei, who is in a tight battle with Ahn Se-young with 14 wins and 14 losses. Chen Yu-fei, whom ahn Se-young recognizes as the most difficult opponent in the world, defeated Ahn Se-young twice last year.

If she surpasses Chen Yufei and advances to the finals,world number two Wang Zhiyi (China) could stand there. Ahn Se-young has a clear advantage by winning all eight times last year alone, including defeating Wang Ziyi in the World Tour Finals.

China is counting on its players to face Ahn Se-young three times in a row. This is because it is believed that if leading Japanese and Chinese players continue to harass Ahn se-young, Wang Ziyi may have a chance in the finals.

However, Ahn Se-young also prepared a preparedness plan. The media warned, “Ahn Se-young did not rest on her laurels and constantly beat herself,” and added, “As revealed in a recent interview with BWF, Ahn Se-young pulled out her ‘trump card’ of choosing male athletes as her training partners.”

Actually, Ahn Se-young said, “I do a lot of sparring with male players to change my playing style. This is because male players are opponents who can practice a little faster than female players.”

Moreover, Ahn Se-young emphasized, “What I need to do is to grow a little more while maintaining my current defensive ability and stamina,” and explained that she sharpened her attack edge while maintaining her existing strengths of stamina and defense.

Se-young Ahn emphasized,“Opponents bring a variety of tactics and play styles to beat me,” and “I am also making more efforts to change my play style to suit my opponent.”

The media wondered, “Even though the specific list was not mentioned, the assessment that there are only four players who can shake the strong wall that Ahn Se-young has built gives the impression of underestimating this strongest player.”

He continued, “Actually, BWF also showed some nuance in acknowledging that it was a ‘forced list of competitors’ and stated that ‘there are almost no signs that a new challenger will emerge to threaten her in 2026.'” He emphasized that in fact, the four rivals were also a formal evaluation.

Although BWF also called it ‘four windows’, it means that it does not believe that it can stop Ahn Se-young’s dominance. This means that there will be no one to stop Ahn Se-young’s dominance this year. Ahn Se-young’s new season starts tomorrow. /[email protected]

Kang Pil-ju ([email protected])