Ahn Se-young & China’s Badminton Strategy: Chen Yu-fei’s Role

[OSEN=강필주 기자] Chinese badminton’s plan, which had predicted a volume offensive to block ‘badminton queen’ Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), has been faltering from the beginning of the competition.

World No. 1 Ahn Se-young defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara (31) with a set score of 2-0 (21-17, 21-7) in the women’s singles round of 16 of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Malaysia Open (Super 1000) held at the Asiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 8th (Korean time).

Ahn Se-young’s match against Okuhara lasted only 37 minutes. It was different from the previous round of 32 where she spent 1 hour and 15 minutes against world number 12 Michelle Lee (Canada), which required a lot of physical strength. Ahn Se-young took the lead from the beginning and showed off her superior performance.

According to Chinese media such as ‘Sina Sports’, ‘Sohu’, and ‘NetEase’, China described Ahn Se-young as a ‘phenomenal figure’ even before the opening of this tournament, and planned to place world 2nd place Wang Zhiyi (26), 4th place Chen Yufei (28), and 5th place Han Yue (27) at the front to put pressure on her in stages.

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Some media outlets emphasized that even though it was an individual match, a collective calculation was needed: ‘Rather than entrusting the game to one player, several players should compete one after another to exhaust Ahn Se-young’s stamina.’

However, the calculations were wrong from the beginning of the competition. Hanwha, which was mentioned as a strong opponent for Ahn Se-young in the quarterfinals, was eliminated early in the round of 16, so the so-called ‘Ahn Se-young’s loss’ scenario was solved from the first button.

As a result, Ahn Se-young will face Denmark’s Line Kiersfeld (32) in the quarterfinals. Ahn Se-young has never lost against Kiersfeld in his entire career, and is evaluated to have the upper hand in terms of objective power.

The collective strategy put forward by China is not a violation of regulations. However, it is far from the spirit of sports and the Olympics. It has also sparked controversy over whether it fits the nature of individual sports. China has repeatedly taken the approach of having several players take turns breaking up Ahn Se-young’s intensity and rhythm and maximizing physical consumption.

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In the end, from China’s perspective, the card they can trust now is Chen Yu-fei, who is called Ahn Se-young’s ‘natural enemy’. According to the bracket, if Ahn Se-young passes the quarterfinals, there is a high possibility that she will meet Chen Yufei in the semifinals.

Chen Yufei is showing a bit of uncertainty in terms of condition, having struggled to come up with a set score of 2-1 in both the round of 32 and the round of 16 of this tournament. Nevertheless, China’s expectations are high as he is the only player to have a close match against Ahn Se-young with a total record of 14 wins and 14 losses.

The Chinese media is also emphasizing Chen Yufei’s role, saying, ‘Before Ahn Seyoung faces Wang Zhiyi in the finals, Chen Yufei must defeat Gisen in the semifinals.’

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I wonder whether China’s plan to ‘reduce Ahn Se-young’s power’ will work properly in front of Chen Yu-fei. For now, Ahn Se-young will focus on the quarterfinals against Kiersfeld at 10 a.m. on the 9th. /[email protected]

[사진] Korea Badminton Association, BWF social media, badminton photo

Kang Pil-ju ([email protected])