Ahn Se-young: Malaysia Open Semifinals Win – 34 Minutes

(Seoul = News 1) Sports Reporter Lim Seong-il = Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), world number one in badminton women’s singles, advanced to the semifinals of the Malaysia Open, the first tournament of 2026.

Ahn Se-young advanced to the semifinals by defeating Denmark’s Line Højmark Kiersfeld (ranked 26th) with a game score of 2-0 (21-17 21-7) in the women’s singles round of 16 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Malaysia Open held at the Asiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 9th.

Originally, Ahn Se-young’s opponent in the quarterfinals was China’s powerhouse Han Yue (ranked 5th). But luck was with me.

Hanwe got off to a good start by beating Korea’s Kim Ga-eun 2-0 in the round of 32 on the 6th, the first day of the tournament. However, ahead of the round of 16, he withdrew due to flu symptoms, and Kiersfeld advanced to the quarterfinals.

For Ahn Se-young, it was less burdensome to meet Kiersfeld, who has a record of five wins in all matches. As expected, Kiersfeld was no match.

Unlike the round of 32 against Michelle Lee and the round of 16 against Okuhara, both of which had difficulties in the early stages of the game, the first game against Kiersfeld took the lead from the start. Ahn Se-young, who actively attempted to attack and easily accumulated points, took the lead comfortably, going into the break with a score of 11-4.

The flow was no different in the second half of the game, and the gap was widened to 16-10, 10 points, effectively dividing the game. Ahn Se-young finished game 1 with a score of 21-8 without much difficulty. It took only 15 minutes to win.

In the second game, Kiersfeld changed his style. Kiersfeld decided that he could not wait and attempted a preemptive attack. In the beginning, Kiersfeld’s counterattack seemed to be working. However, there were as many mistakes as successes, and Ahn Se-young, who calmly took the attack, entered the interval with a wide gap at 11-6.

When the opponent came out with a strong attack, Ahn Se-young controlled his pace. Kiersfeld himself collapsed as Ahn Se-young easily blocked the attack that he thought was aimed at the corner of the court.

My mistakes increased, my stamina dropped, and my feet got stuck on the court. At 12-8, Ahn Se-young scored 7 points, effectively splitting the match.

Ahn Se-young easily added two more points, finishing with 21-9 and confirming her advancement to the semifinals. It was a complete victory that took only 34 minutes to end.

Ahn Se-young, who advanced to the semifinals, faces her old enemy Chen Yu-fei (China, ranked 4th) on her way to the season’s first finals. His previous record against Chen Yupe is tight at 14 wins and 14 losses.

lastuncle@news1.kr