Ahn Se-young, who is trying for her second win of the season, has advanced to the round of 16 of the Indian Open. ⓒ AFP = News 1
(Seoul = News 1) Sports Reporter Lim Seong-il = Ahn Se-young, who lifted the championship trophy in the first competition of the new year, continues her momentum and challenges for her second win of the season. I passed the first hurdle easily.
Ahn Se-young, world number one in badminton women’s singles, easily defeated Japan’s veteran Nozomi Okuhara (30, ranked 30th) 2-0 (21-17 21-9) in the round of 32 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) India Open (Super 750) held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India on the afternoon of the 14th (Korean time) and advanced to the round of 16. Ahn Se-young, winner of this competition last year, is aiming for her second consecutive victory.
Ahn Se-young had a brilliant 2025. In one year, he participated in 77 games, leaving an unrealistic record of 73 wins, 4 losses, and a winning rate of 94.8%, and a total of 11 wins, putting him on par with Japan’s Kento Momota’s ‘most wins in a year’ in 2019. He had the best time, becoming the first badminton player to surpass $1 million in accumulated prize money ($1,003,175, approximately 1,441.86 million won).
2026 was also off to the best start. Seyoung Ahn defeated Wang Zhiyi (China, ranked 2nd) 2-0 (21-15 24-22) in the final of the BWF Malaysia Open (Super 1000) held at Asiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 11th and lifted the first trophy of the season.
Ahn Se-young met Okuhara in the round of 16 of the Malaysia Open and won 2-0. Game 1 was tight at 21-17, but game 2 was 21-7 and one-sided. In particular, after giving up the first point, they increased their momentum by scoring 11 points.
I faced Okuhara again six days later with good memories, and the first game was again a tough one.
Ahn Se-young took control from the beginning and led the game. However, Okuhara also patiently followed with 4-4, 8-8, 13-13, creating a tight flow. Rather, it was 14-16, a situation where the tide turned for the first time in the game. But in the end, Ahn Se-young’s heart shone.
Ahn Se-young changed the flow by immediately tying the score at 16-16, and after tying Okuhara’s score at 17-17, he immediately succeeded in scoring four consecutive points, taking the game to one. It was the same score as the first game of the Malaysia Open.
Game 2 was easy. Ahn Se-young, who took the lead 4-1 in the beginning, scored 5 consecutive points at 5-3 and ran away to 10-3, effectively taking the win.
Ahn Se-young, who maintained a 5-6 point lead throughout, widened the gap to 17-8 and 9 points in the second half, causing the opponent to lose their fighting spirit, and finished the first round by finishing the second game with 21-9.
Se-young Ahn will face Taiwan’s rookie Huang Yu-xun in the round of 16. Hwang Yu-xun is a match-winner who met Ahn Se-young’s team and national team senior Kim Ga-eun in the round of 32 and achieved a 2-1 comeback victory.
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