▲ Ahn Se-young, who has continued to be unrivaled in name and reality by winning gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Paris Olympics, as well as major tournaments including the All England Open, World Championships, and Asian Games, is now aiming for the great feat of winning the first ever Korean Asian Team Badminton Championships. ⓒ World Badminton Federation
[스포티비뉴스=조용운 기자] Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), the ‘shuttlecock queen’ who has dominated the world badminton stage, is taking on the challenge of building a new milestone that will remain in the history of team competitions.
Ahn Se-young is shedding a heavy sweat again. As soon as the new year dawned, he won the Malaysia Open and India Open in succession, continuing the momentum of last year’s 11 crowns. Because I have been running non-stop since the end of the year, I recently decided to skip participating in the Indonesia Masters and Thailand Masters. Ahn Se-young’s next stage, which took a short break and recharged in Korea, has been decided.
The team will wear the Taegeuk symbol at the 2026 Asian Team Badminton Championships, which will be held in Qingdao, China from February 3rd to 8th. This competition is more than just a team competition. This competition is a prelude to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games to be held in September.
At the Asian Team Championships, which have been held every two years since 2016, Korean women’s badminton won silver medals twice (2020 and 2022), but unfortunately had to take a step back from the summit. It’s different this time. Leading by Ahn Se-young, the world’s No. 1 women’s singles player, Korea’s top-ranked players are all in attendance, showing a stronger will than ever to win.
Korean women’s badminton, seeded second, will play in Group Z against Taiwan and Singapore. Since this tournament will be held in the form of 3 singles and 2 doubles, balance in all events is essential. Ahn Se-young is the most certain winning card in singles and can completely break the opponent’s momentum. Ahn Se-young’s presence alone is enough to make the opponent feel intimidated as if they were facing a huge wall, so she is expected to play the role of an absolute ace.
▲ Lee So-hee and Baek Han-jo defeated Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Miyu Matsumoto in the women’s doubles at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals 2025 at the end of last year, achieving consecutive wins for the first time in 26 years.
Korea’s scenario is that if Ahn Se-young wins, they will secure victory with a strong doubles team of Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na (3rd place, Incheon International Airport) and Gong Hee-yong (Jeonbuk Bank) and Kim Hye-jeong (Samsung Life Insurance, 5th place).
Fortunately, Ahn Se-young’s condition is at its peak. He overcame the negative effects of an excessive schedule and evolved into a flawless player by maximizing his strengths, such as limitless activity and impeccable defense. In particular, China, where this competition is being held, is home to strong competitors such as Chen Yufei and Wang Zhiyi, but Ahn Se-young has already defeated them several times and proudly stood on top of the podium even in enemy territory.
Ahn Se-young once again laced up her sneakers to win the first gold medal in the Asian team event, a long-cherished dream of Korean badminton. As soon as the group exhibition is completed, Ahn Se-young will participate in the most prestigious All England Open in March. The goal was to raise the Taegeukgi to the highest level on Chinese soil before going on the stage to reaffirm its status as the world’s best.
▲ Ahn Se-young, who has continued to be unrivaled in name and reality by winning gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Paris Olympics, as well as major tournaments including the All England Open, World Championships, and Asian Games, is now aiming for the great feat of winning the first ever Korean Asian Team Badminton Championships.
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