Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), the ‘world’s best’ in badminton, advanced to the finals of the Malaysia Open without wasting stamina due to the withdrawal of her biggest rival, Chen Yu-fei (China, 4th place).
Ahn Se-young, ranked No. 1 in the women’s singles world rankings, received news of Chen Yu-fei’s injury withdrawal ahead of the semifinals of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held at the Asiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 10th.
BWF announced on its official website that Chen Yufei had withdrawn from the match due to injury. Accordingly, Ahn Se-young secured a ticket to the finals through a forfeit win without playing the game, taking one step closer to achieving the milestone of winning three consecutive tournaments.
The two players are in a tight balance with a total record of 14 wins and 14 losses. In particular, Chen Yufei is a difficult opponent, having suffered two losses last year when Ahn Se-young achieved overwhelming results. Ahn Se-young recorded the highest winning percentage (94.8%) ever with 73 wins and 4 losses in 77 matches in 2025, and 2 of the 4 losses were to Chen Yu-fei.
In the semifinals of last year’s World Championships, Chen Yu-Fei defeated Ahn Se-Young, preventing her from losing two games in a row. With this withdrawal, Ahn Se-young was able to overcome the most burdensome hurdle and prepare for the final in optimal condition.
Ahn Se-young’s opponent in the final will be determined by the winner of the semifinals between Wang Zhiyi (China, 2nd place) and Pusala Sindhu (India, 18th place). Ahn Se-young has an overwhelming advantage over Wang Zhiyi with a total of 16 wins and 4 losses, and won all eight times last year. Against Sindhu, she boasts a perfect record with 8 wins.
Ahn Se-young, who reached the top of this competition in 2024 and 2025, will set a record of winning for three consecutive years if she wins this competition as well. As she showed a sharp rise by completely defeating Rine Højmark Kersfeld (Denmark) in 34 minutes in the quarterfinals the previous day, it is evaluated that Ahn Se-young has a high possibility of winning regardless of who advances to the final.
Ahn Se-young set great records last year, including the most wins in a single season (11 wins), the highest winning percentage ever (94.8%), and the highest accumulated prize money ever ($1,003,175). This year, for the first time in BWF history, the team will attempt the ‘Super 1000 Slam’ by winning all four Super 1000 series competitions in one year.
The Super 1000 tournament is the highest level tournament with the most ranking points and prize money among the BWF World Tour, and includes the Malaysia Open, All England Open, Indonesia Open, and China Open. Last year, he withdrew from the final quarterfinals of the China Open due to knee pain and unfortunately missed the ‘Super 1000 Slam’.
Ahn Se-young is determined to create new history starting with the Malaysia Open and solidify her dominance in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Korean national team is continuing to cruise in the doubles event. The men’s doubles world number one pair of Seo Seung-jae and Kim Won-ho defeated the Malaysian pair 2-0 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals, where they will compete against England’s Ben Lane and Sean Bendy.
Women’s doubles aims to advance to the finals. The world’s 6th ranked team Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee will face Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Matsumoto Mayu, while the 19th ranked team Na-eun Jeong and Lee Yeon-woo will challenge the world’s number 1 pair, Ryu Seong-soo and Tanning of China, to produce an upset.
Reporter Seo Jeong-min
