Ahn Se-young: Struggles & Facing Former No. 1s

[스포츠서울 | 강동현 기자] ‘Empress of Shuttlecock’ opens the door to the 2026 season.

Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance), who rewrote world badminton history last season and began earning the title GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), will compete in the Malaysia Open on the 6th. The Malaysia Open is a top-level tournament as part of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 1000 series.

Ahn Se-young won the Malaysia Open, All England Open, and Indonesia Open last season in succession, but due to an injury, she only reached the semifinals of the China Open and postponed her achievement of the ‘Super 1000 Slam’ until later.

Following the BWF World Tour Finals at the end of last year, the new season began with a tough matchup.

Let’s take a look at the expected opponent to face Ahn Se-young in the women’s singles at the Malaysia Open.

◇Round 1: Michelle Lee (World No. 12, Canada) with a record of 8 wins and undefeated

Michelle Lee (35) is a Chinese-Canadian player who has been on the rise recently. I lost the first set to Ahn Se-young at the China Open last season. Once it catches fire, it is not easy to stop it, but the biggest drawback is that when it collapses, it collapses without any help.

◇Round of 16: Nozomi Okuhara (World No. 30, Japan) with a record of 3 wins and undefeated

Nozomi Okuhara (31) is a powerhouse who was once ranked number one in the world. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won the world championships the following year. He is confident enough to reveal his goal for the new year by singling out Ahn Se-young, saying, “I will keep my wits about me and approach Ahn Se-young.”

◇ Quarterfinals: Against Hanyue (World No. 5, China), record 9 wins, 2 losses

Han Yue (27) lost to Ahn Se-young due to a knee injury in the semifinals of last season’s China Open. Two months later, we met again at the China Masters and were completely defeated without even using our strength. They easily advance to the quarterfinals and semifinals in each competition, but the recent decline is clear.

◇Semifinals: 14 wins, 14 losses against Chen Yufei (World No. 4, China)

Chen Yufei (28) was Ahn Se-young’s only ‘natural enemy’ who could not outperform his opponent. Last season, he played well against Ahn Se-young, with 2 wins and 5 losses. This season is also considered a strong opponent. He expressed his respect by saying, “Ahn Se-young’s ambition to win is a quality I respect.”

◇Final: Against Wang Zhiyi (World No. 2, China), record 16 wins, 4 losses

‘Eternal second-in-command’ Wang Zhiyi (26) suffered the humiliation of losing all eight games to Ahn Se-young last season. They met seven times in the finals and lost all of them. After losing in the finals of the King of Kings last month, he ended up crying in the mixed zone. He praised, “Ahn Se-young is always on top in terms of stability, consistency, speed, and flow management.”

Year after year, mountain after mountain.

After overcoming two ambushes, it is a difficult road where you will face three strong men of the continent again.

In the year of the red horse, Ahn Se-young, the year of the horse, runs again.

There are no obstacles.

dhkang@sportsseoul.com