‘Shuttlecock Empress’ Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance) did not forget to show respect and comfort to ‘loser’ Wang Ziyi (25, China) this time. Even in China, the champion’s dignity was applauded.
China’s ‘NetEase’ highlighted on the 13th (Korean time), “Korean player Ahn Se-young, the world’s No. 1 badminton women’s singles player, confidently took the top spot in the first competition of the new year. Afterwards, she impressed fans by showing her class and leaving a heartfelt message to Wang Ziyi, who lost in the final.”
Ahn Se-young defeated world number two Wang Zhiyi with a game score of 2-0 (21-15 24-22) in the women’s singles final of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Malaysia Open (Super 1000) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 11th.
Ahn Se-young, who took the first game smoothly, was shaken in the second game. At one point, we fell behind by 9-17 and faced a crisis. It looked like Wang Ziyi was taking the game to three games.
However, An Se-young showed a scary back and dashed Wang Ziyi’s hopes. He swept up the score in an instant, tying the score at 18-18, and after a close deuce, he made it 24-22 and secured the victory. Wang Ziyi had to lower his head again due to somewhat passive management and a series of mistakes.
In the end, Ahn Se-young won 8 wins in 8 matches against Wang Zhiyi last year, and continued his 9-game winning streak by defeating him in 2026 and winning the championship trophy. Now their record against each other is 17 wins and 4 losses. At the same time, Ahn Se-young succeeded in winning her third consecutive Malaysia Open title in 2024 and 2025.
In addition, Se-young Ahn set a record of winning 5 consecutive BWF international competitions and 25 consecutive wins in BWF-hosted competitions (including a semifinal bye against Chen Yu-fei). He has not lost a single match since the Denmark Open in October last year. Her last loss was to Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) in the Korea Open final in September last year.
NetEase said, “Ahn Se-young clearly proved her status as the queen of badminton. She swept the world stage last year and achieved 11 crowns in the season, including winning the ‘King of Kings’ World Tour Finals.” Ahn Se-young continued her upward trend in the first competition of the 2026 season. She fell behind 10-11 in the first game of the finals, but bounced back by scoring 7 points in a row. Although she faced a crisis in the second game, she enjoyed the joy of victory. “I enjoyed it,” he said.
Ahn Se-young’s champion-like manners also attracted attention. After winning, he boasted about the trophy on social media, saying, “I had a great time in Kuala Lumpur. In addition, I won my third title at the Malaysia Open.”
However, he did not forget his warm comfort and courtesy towards Wang Ziyi. Seyoung Ahn wrote, “I am grateful to Wang Ziyi, who always tests my limits and helps me do my best. I really respect his fierce competitive spirit and I am very much looking forward to future matches with him.”
Finally, he concluded his post by saying, “I would like to thank my fans. I really appreciate it. The cheers of the Malaysian fans in the stadium gave me great strength to continue playing. Without the help of you and my team, it would have been difficult to achieve the valuable result of winning. It’s a good start to 2026! I’m looking forward to the future games!”
NetEase pointed out, “Ahn Se-young also showed respect to her defeated opponent, Wang Ziyi, and also expressed gratitude to the fans.” Meanwhile, Wang Ziyi also promised not to be frustrated. He could not hold back tears after finishing second in the World Tour Finals, and after this loss, he said, “I am always proud of myself. I will stay healthy and continue to improve myself.”
/finekosh@osen.co.kr
[사진] Korean Badminton Association/BADMINTON PHOTO
