Ahn Se-young Dominates: Indonesia & Wang Zui Fall

(Reporter Lee Woo-jin, Xports News) As ‘Badminton Emperor’ Ahn Se-young once again showed off his status as the world’s strongest player and got one step closer to the top of the India Open, the media in Indonesia, a badminton powerhouse, also couldn’t help but admire his power.

Ahn Se-young, who defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara (world no. 27), Taiwan’s Hwang Yu-sun (world no. 38), and Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani (world no. 6) in succession from the round of 32 to the quarterfinals, showed her best performance with good physical condition in the semifinals.

Ahn Se-young defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Inthanon, ranked 8th in the world, 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 (Korean time). Just 32 minutes were enough for victory.

Ahn Se-young pushed Intanon hard at the start of the first game. They took a 7-3 lead from the beginning, setting the stage for an easy game.

Ahn Se-young gradually accumulated scores with his unique net defense and various attack patterns that caught his opponent off guard. Although Intanon sometimes pursued with bold attacks, Ahn Se-young showed a difference in ‘class’.

Ahn Se-young steadily maintained her lead and gradually widened the gap. In the end, he comfortably won one game, 21-11 in 16 minutes, taking a step toward the Indian Open final.

Ahn Se-young, who had been winning with suffocating defense and steel stamina, attacked as if he had made up his mind in this match against Inthanon.

Inthanon resisted strongly, but Ahn Se-young did not waver at all. Rather, he had no choice but to bow down to Ahn Se-young’s counterattack.

In game 2, the score increased from the beginning and went into the interval at 11-5.

Ahn Se-young did not allow the opponent any gap.

In the middle of the second game, the score was already 17-6, and after adding one point at a time, the match ended at 21-7. Inthanon was unable to cope with Ahn Se-young’s wave of attacks at all.

Despite its name as a semifinal, it was a game that was easily concluded in just 32 minutes.

With her victory in the semifinals on this day, Ahn Se-young will compete with China’s Wang Zhiyi, ranked second in the world, in the final to win the India Open. Wang Ziyi is showing absolute inferiority against Ahn Se-young with a total record of 4 wins and 17 losses.

Ahn Se-young showed a strong side every time she met Wang Ziyi.

In particular, they have won all 9 of their recent head-to-head matches. He also won the first tournament of the 2026 season by defeating Wang Zhiyi with a game score of 2-0 (21-15 24-22) in the Malaysia Open final on the 11th.

Ahn Se-young’s ‘crazy’ performance impressed the Indonesian media, who live and die for badminton.

Indonesian sports media outlet ‘Bola Sports’ reported right after the Ahn Se-young-Inthanon match, saying, “Ahn Se-young advanced to the finals with a ‘completely overwhelming’ performance against Inthanon.”

The media said, “The match was one-sided, and Intanon failed to properly respond to both Ahn Se-young’s attack and defense,” and added, “The semifinal, which ended in 32 minutes, was a game that clearly showed the gap between the two players.”

Regarding the outlook for the final, he said, “China’s Wang Zhiyi is waiting in the final. Wang Zhiyi has recently suffered consecutive losses to An Se-young, but this final will be a ‘stage of revenge’ to avenge her loss at the last Malaysia Open.” However, he added, “If you look at the current trend and performance, Ahn Se-young still has a clear advantage.”

If Ahn Se-young wins this tournament, she will reach her second title of the 2026 season and win six consecutive BWF World Tour tournaments following last week’s Malaysia Open victory. In addition, she will reach the top of the Indian Open for the third time and tie the record for most wins in women’s singles at the tournament.

The eyes of badminton fans around the world are turning to New Delhi, India, to see whether Ahn Se-young, who has an overwhelming opponent record, will once again surpass Wang Ziyi, or whether Wang Ziyi will be able to break the long chain of defeats.