Seyoung Ahn./BWF
Seyoung Ahn/Getty Images Korea
[마이데일리 = 김경현 기자] 2025 was Ahn Se-young’s year. Men’s doubles also showed similar performance. However, overseas media argued that we should not be complacent.
Andonesia’s ‘Bola Sports’ reported on the 1st, “Don’t just look at Ahn Se-young. Korea is in crisis for men’s singles and mixed doubles players.”
Ahn Se-young left behind an unprecedented performance. On the 21st, she defeated Wang Zhiyi (China) in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2025 Women’s Singles final, winning her 11th title. She is the first woman to win 11 gold medals in singles, and tied with Kento Momota (Japan) in men’s singles for the most wins in a single season in 2019. The winning rate of 94.8% (74/77) and the winning prize exceeding $1 million are also the first in the history of the sport.
‘BWF’ praised, saying, “If there was one story that defined badminton over the past 12 months, it was Ahn Se-young’s phenomenal season, which rewrote the record books and captured the imagination of fans around the world.”
Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae team./BWF
The team of Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae cannot be left out. Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae’s team won 11 times, surpassing the 1988 Li Yongbo-Tianbing team (China, 10 times) and setting the record for the most wins in a season in men’s doubles.
‘BWF’ said, “Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, who reunited in early 2025, immediately rose to the elite ranks. The two players have an incredible understanding of each other’s strengths, and they have defeated even experienced opponents by combining explosive offense, solid defense, and smart shot selection.”
He then summarized the achievements of Korean badminton, saying, “As 2025 draws to a close, fans and commentators will be analyzing these achievements for years to come. A season that showed such sustained excellence will not be seen again in the near future.”
Seyoung Ahn/Getty Images Korea
However, there are no worthy stars in men’s singles and mixed doubles. Men’s singles has lost its competitiveness on the world stage. Mixed doubles was too dependent on the pair of Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jeong.
This is a chronic shortcoming of Korean sports. The birth of a star does not lead to a system. Men’s singles and mixed doubles are also having difficulty finding new generations as their stars disappear.
‘Bola Sports’ cited an interview with coach Park Joo-bong and pointed out, “Just because we achieved satisfactory results in the finals, we should not be satisfied with only the outstanding performance of a few players. If we look inside, there are many problems that need to be resolved urgently.”
Reporter Kim Kyung-hyeon kij4457@mydaily.co.kr
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