Ahn Se-young is taking a commemorative photo with runner-up Wang Ziyi after winning the women’s singles at the World Badminton Federation World Tour Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 11th. Kuala Lumpur | AP Yonhap News
The ‘Empress’ is also warm-hearted. He also drew attention by leaving a sincere and respectful message to the ‘loser’ who lost 9 consecutive matches against him.
Ahn Se-young (Samsung Life Insurance), world number one in badminton women’s singles, won the championship by defeating Wang Zhiyi (second, China) 2-0 (21-15 24-22) in the women’s singles final of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Malaysia Open (Super 1000) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 11th.
With this win, Ahn Se-young succeeded in winning the Malaysia Open for the third time in a row, following 2024 and 2025. It has been 7 years since Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan) won 3 consecutive titles in the Malaysia Open women’s singles in 2017-2019. In particular, against Wang Zhiyi, he continued the momentum of 8 wins in 8 matches last year and won 9 consecutive matches. Their overall record against opponents also widened to 17 wins and 4 losses.
Wang Zhiyi (left) is looking at Ahn Se-young at the award ceremony after finishing in runner-up at the World Badminton Federation World Tour Malaysia Open women’s singles held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 11th. Kuala Lumpur | EPAYonhap News
From Wang Ziyi’s perspective, Ahn Se-young seems to feel like a huge ‘wall’. Wang Zhiyi faced Ahn Se-young in the finals eight times, including last year’s team event, the Sudirman Cup. Since they were ranked 1st and 2nd, it was natural for them to meet in the finals of the bracket.
Wang Ziyi persistently harassed Ahn Se-young every time they faced each other. But it was Ahn Se-young who always won. In particular, at the World Tour Finals last December, she became a hot topic by shedding tears after losing 1-2 after a bloody battle with Ahn Se-young for 1 hour and 36 minutes.
China’s reaction to Wang Ziyi was a mixture of despair and disappointment. China’s ‘Sohu.com’ gave a self-deprecating evaluation after the match, saying, “Even though she took the lead at the end of the second set, she lost to Ahn Se-young again. For Wang Ziyi, Ahn Se-young was a wall she could not overcome.” At the same time, he also showed disappointment in Wang Ziyi, saying, “Wang Ziyi was unable to overcome the ‘Ahn Se-young phobia’ that had been pointed out before the game this time. Now the gap between the two has widened to the point where it is embarrassing to call them rivals.”
However, contrary to China’s reaction, Ahn Se-young actively protected the loser, Wang Ziyi.
After winning, Ahn Se-young said on her SNS, “I had a really good time in Kuala Lumpur. In addition, I won the Malaysia Open for the third time,” and showed respect for Wang Ziyi, saying, “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 playing against (Wang Ziyi) in the future.”
Additionally, he did not forget to express his gratitude to his fans. Se-young Ahn said, “I would like to thank the fans. I am truly grateful. 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.”
Ahn Se-young Instagram capture
