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[AFP=연합뉴스]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Myeong-eon = Badminton’s ‘world’s best’ Se-young Ahn (Samsung Life Insurance) managed to achieve her first win of the new year after a grueling match.
Ahn Se-young, ranked No. 1 in the women’s singles world rankings, defeated Canada’s Michelle Lee 2-1 (19-21 21-16 21-18) after a fierce battle of 1 hour and 15 minutes in the round of 32 of the World Tour Super 1000 Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 6th.
Ahn Se-young, who was recording a total of eight wins against Lee, ranked 12th in the world, started uneasily on this day with unusual movements.
Ahn Se-young, who lost the lead in the first game due to a series of mistakes, managed to come back twice, but was ultimately unable to shake off Lee’s pursuit and lost the first set at 19-21.
The gap widened further at the beginning of the second game. Ahn Se-young appeared to be struggling, leaning on her knees and out of breath as if she was not feeling well.
However, the power of the world’s No. 1 player shined in crisis situations. Ahn Se-young, who allowed consecutive goals to her opponent and went into the interval trailing 6-11, showed incredible concentration after the game resumed.
As if they had recovered their condition, they showed off their power to turn the tide by scoring 7 points in an instant, and after being tied 4 times, they won 16-16 with 5 consecutive points to bring the game back to square one.
Ahn Se-young, who repeated the fierce seesaw game in game 3, went into the interval with an 11-10 lead.
It was a close battle until the very end, but Ahn Se-young was stronger at the back.
In a situation where they were down 14-16, they scored 5 consecutive points to take a 19-16 lead, and although they allowed 2 points to Lee, they immediately won the last 2 points and won after much difficulty.
Ahn Se-young, who reached the top of the Malaysia Open in 2024 and 2025, will achieve the milestone of ‘3 consecutive wins’ if she lifts the championship trophy in this tournament as well.
Last year, Ahn Se-young wrote a new history in badminton by breaking the record for the most wins ever in a single season (11 wins), the highest winning percentage ever for a singles player (94.8%), and the highest accumulated prize money ever ($1,003,175).
Ahn Se-young, who has already confirmed her participation in the India Open starting on the 13th after the Malaysia Open, is once again tightening her shoelaces to surpass the record she set.
Ahn Se-young will face Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara, the 2017 World Championships gold medalist, in the round of 16.
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Sent at 12:25 on January 6, 2026
