(Xports News Reporter Yoon Jun-seok) Ahn Se-young is sweeping up even the smallest awards.
This time, he became the main character of December’s ‘Rally of the Month’ released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) through its official SNS.
On the 28th (Korean time), the BWF selected the rally created by Korea’s Ahn Se-young and China’s Wang Zhiyi as the best badminton scene in December with the expression “First Class Badminton.”
The rally selected by BWF was a scene that occurred in the middle of the second set at 7-8 during the match between Ahn Se-young and Wang Ziyi in the BWF World Tour Finals women’s singles final held at the Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, China on December 21 last year.
With Ahn Se-young already taking the first set, Wang Ziyi launched a counterattack and the game was tense.
In the unique atmosphere of the finals, where physical strength, concentration, and psychological pressure were at their peak, the two players gave everything they had in one rally.
The two players exchanged shuttlecocks a whopping 74 times in one rally, and the rally time alone reached 1 minute and 40 seconds.
After this incredible rally, Ahn Se-young lay down on the court to catch her breath, and Wang Zi-yi was also captured resting while leaning on the waiting seat. It was a breathtaking rally.
Wang Ziyi took the lead in the early stages of the rally. Wang Ziyi used fast-tempo straight smashes and body attacks in succession to persistently target the deep area of Ahn Se-young’s backhand. However, Ahn Se-young did not get caught up in the speed competition. He used his height and depth to catch the shuttle and lead the rally for a long time.
The element that stood out the most in this scene was Ahn Se-young’s defensive quality. It was not just a defense that blocked the opponent’s attack, but a defense that broke the attacker’s rhythm and made him move again. Even in continuous smash situations, the balance was barely shaken.
Although this rally was won by Wang Ziyi with an exquisite hairpin at the end. Ahn Se-young, who wins most rallies, gave up points in this rally.
However, it is no exaggeration to say that the difficulty and density of the rally was created by Ahn Se-young’s defense and management, and Ahn Se-young blocked several of Wang Ziyi’s winning shots.
The audience who watched the scene cheered, and as the rally continued, the broadcasters in the scene were amazed and said, “Oh, my God,” “Look at this amazing speed,” and “Badminton is a truly amazing sport.”
The final itself, where this rally took place, was also a historic game.
Seyoung Ahn defeated Wang Zhiyi with a game score of 2-1 (21-13 18-21 21-10) in the match and won the 2025 season World Tour Finals.
With this victory, Ahn Se-young set the first women’s singles record of winning 11 international competitions in a single season, and became the first player in world badminton history to exceed $1 million in cumulative season prize money.
According to the BWF official announcement, with this victory, Ahn Se-young completed a phenomenal record of 73 wins, 4 losses, and a 94.8% win rate in the 2025 season.
On the other hand, Wang Ziyi once again failed to overcome Ahn Se-young’s barrier in the finals. The final was a close match that lasted 1 hour and 36 minutes, and Wang Ziyi showed strong resistance by winning two games, but was unable to overcome his physical decline in the third game.
Photo = BWF / Yonhap News
Reporter Junseok Yoon jupremebd@xportsnews.com
