Indonesian badminton star Putri Kusuma Wardani will face Korea’s Ahn Se-young in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Badminton Federation World Tour India Open. Wardani has a total of 7 losses against Ahn Se-young, and said in a post-match interview, “I hope I get lucky tomorrow and can beat Ahn Se-young.” Experts predict that there is a high possibility that Ahn Se-young will reaffirm her status as a natural enemy against Wardani.
[OSEN=강필주 기자] Indonesia’s badminton star Putri Kusuma Wardani (24), ranked 6th in the world, issued a hopeful challenge to her same age ‘badminton queen’ Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance).
Wardani advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 (15-21, 21-9, 21-18) comeback victory over Rine Kiersfeld (Denmark) in the women’s singles round of 16 of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour India Open (Super 750) held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi, India on the 15th (Korean time).
Her opponent in the quarterfinals is world No. 1 Ahn Se-young. Ahn Se-young, who won the Malaysia Open, the first tournament of the season, is considered a strong candidate for the championship by showing off her overwhelming skills in this tournament as well.
In particular, Wardani has a total of 7 losses against Ahn Se-young. As the difference in skill level is clear, this match is expected to be virtually a fight between ‘David and Goliath’.
In an interview with Indonesian media outlet ‘Antara’ after the game, Wardani expressed his honest feelings ahead of the match against Ahn Se-young. He said, “I will meet Ahn Se-young tomorrow. I will give all my skills,” and added, “I hope that tomorrow I will be lucky and be able to beat Ahn Se-young.” This is a statement that made me realize that there is a ‘wall’ called Ahn Se-young that is difficult to overcome with skill alone.
Indonesian ‘VOI’ mentioned the 2025 BWF World Tour Finals as the basis for Wardani’s confidence. At that time, Wardani met Ahn Se-young in the group stage and lost 1-2 (16-21, 21-8, 8-21). Even though I lost the game, I still remember putting strong pressure on Ahn Se-young by taking the second set to 21-8. The media expressed expectations, saying, “Winning a set against Ahn Se-young will be a good asset.”
However, this does not mean that Wardani is an easy opponent. Although she lost to Ahn Se-young in the finals of the Australian Open last year, she took second place, and is showing rapid growth by winning a bronze medal alongside Ahn Se-young at the World Championships. Nevertheless, it can be interpreted to mean that Ahn Se-young’s skills are unrivaled, enough to mention ‘luck’.
Meanwhile, Ahn Se-young’s path to victory has been given a green light in this India Open, as her arch-nemesis Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) and Gao Fangjie (China) have left due to injuries and withdrawals. First of all, Ahn Se-young is aiming to advance to the semifinals by sacrificing Wardani at 5:50 pm on the 16th.
Experts believe that there is a high possibility that Ahn Se-young will reaffirm his status as a ‘natural enemy’ against Wardani. Attention is focused on whether good luck will follow Wardani’s earnest wish, or whether Ahn Se-young’s flawless play will continue. /[email protected]
