[스포티비뉴스=장하준 기자] Chen Yufei, the Chinese women’s national badminton team, once again revealed her presence in Jakarta, Indonesia. In the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 500 Indonesia Masters women’s singles final held in the absence of her rival Ahn Se-young, Chen Yu-fei took the top spot by defeating Thailand’s Pichamon Opatnipus 2-0 (23-21 21-13). It had greater meaning as the win came after a month of injuries and physical strain.
After finishing the competition, Chen Yufei shared her struggles over the past few weeks through social media. He began by saying, “I wasn’t in good shape throughout January, and I even had inflammation in my shoulder and ankle,” and expressed his gratitude by saying, “I’m so happy that I was able to stand on the court again. I’m grateful to the fans who supported me.”
The actual content of the game was closer to endurance than flashiness. I passed the first two rounds easily, finishing in the 20-minute range, but as I got closer to the latter part of the finals, stronger opponents appeared one after another. In the quarterfinals, she had a close battle with Pusala Sindhu for 42 minutes, and in the semifinals, she had a fierce battle with Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara for 54 minutes. The finals weren’t easy either. They led the first game, but barely regained their momentum after going down to deuce.
Chen Yufei, who lifted the trophy in Indonesia, also saw changes in her world rankings. She returned to third place, pushing out Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. At the top of the leaderboard, Ahn Se-young still maintains first place, and China’s Wang Ziyi maintains second place. Pichamon, who lost in the finals, raised his ranking from 36th to 30th based on his performance in this tournament.
What caught the eye was the subsequent schedule. Chen Yufei had originally registered to participate in the Super 300 level competition held in Thailand after Indonesia. Only last year, Chen Wei-Page, who was active in completing the schedule by winning small and medium-sized tournaments such as the Macau Open, changed his decision this time. The reason was accumulated fatigue and injury management. I decided to remove my name from the Thailand Masters participation list and focus on recovery.
Chinese portal NetEase said, “Chen Yufei plans to focus on rest and rehabilitation for the time being,” and added, “It is highly likely that her condition will be adjusted during the Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Championships to be held in Qingdao, China in early February.” The report continued, “The next stage is expected to be the Super 300 level competition held in Germany at the end of February, and it is a stage that will have the characteristics of a representative ‘All England Open Rehearsal.’”
Chen Yufei participated in three international competitions this January alone. The report card was good, with two semifinals and a win, but on the other side, physical strength decline and pain piled up. Although competitiveness and condition are still at the top, some say that the Chinese national team also needs careful management as signs of overload are showing from the beginning of the season.
The fact that Chen Yu-fei took the championship trophy and recovered her ranking on a stage without the world’s strongest player, Se-young Ahn, adds interest to future developments. Badminton fans are paying attention to how the two players will progress in the race that continues through spring and summer, when the season begins in earnest, and into the second half of the year when major tournaments are held.
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