Ahn Se-young's China Run: Will She Break the Seal?

(Reporter Kim Hyun-ki, Xports News) As Ahn Se-young faces the most difficult matchup she can accept, the Indonesian media is also paying attention to it.

Ahn Se-young left the country with the national badminton team on December 31 last year. In preparation for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Malaysia Open (Super 1000), which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia starting on the 6th, the team plans to focus on practicing in warm weather and then participate in the competition.

Seyoung Ahn had the best year of her life last year. She swept a total of 10 international competitions, including 3 BWF Super 1000 competitions and 5 Super 750 competitions, and even won the World Tour Finals, which is a king of kings at the end of the year, and became the first woman in the world to win 11 badminton women’s singles titles.

It is noteworthy that he swept various international competitions regardless of level, including the Malaysia Open, All England Open, Indonesia Open (Super 1000), India Open, Japan Open, China Masters, Denmark Open, French Open (Super 750), Australian Open (Super 500), Orleans Masters (Super 300), and even won the World Tour Finals title.

Of course, he only took third place at the World Championships, but his performance in other competitions made up for his disappointment at the World Championships.

Ahn Se-young will launch a forced march in 2026. Starting in early January, matches are held almost every month, starting with the Malaysia Open and India Open (Super 500). Since the Summer Asian Games will be held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan in September, Ahn Se-young will also participate.

However, a difficult schedule awaits Ahn Se-young starting from the first competition of the new year.

According to the bracket announced by the Malaysia Open organizing committee, Ahn Se-young will meet world number 12 in the first round of the round of 32. Next, starting in the round of 16, they will face players from China and Japan, powerful badminton countries.

First, Se-young Ahn will clash with Michelle Lee (Canada), ranked 12th in the world, in the round of 32.

Of course, Ahn Se-young is one step ahead in terms of skills. Seyoung Ahn has 8 wins out of 8 against Michelle Lee. Even so, it is assessed that he is not at a level where he can warm up against Michelle Lee in the round of 32.

Ahn Se-young will meet strong players in earnest from the round of 16. In the round of 16, it is highly likely that she will clash with Japan’s veteran Nozomi Okuhara (ranked 30th in the world), a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a gold medalist at the World Championships. Okuhara is over 30 years old and is not as strong as he used to be, but the veteran’s experience cannot be ignored. Okuhara is showing his fighting spirit at the end of last year, saying, “I want to get closer to Ahn Se-young. I want to stick close to him.”

It is expected that they will then face off against three Chinese aces in the quarterfinals.

Seyoung Ahn is likely to face two Chinese players, Han Yue, ranked 5th in the world, and Chen Yufei, ranked 4th in the world, in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the bracket.

In the quarterfinals, he will face one of the 5th to 8th ranked players in the world, and he is expected to face Han Yue, who happens to be the highest ranked player and is the only player other than Ahn Se-young to win the Super 1000 tournament after winning the China Open last year.

Then, in the semifinals, it is highly likely that he will clash with Ahn Se-young’s biggest rival, 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Chen Yu-fei, who has a tight record of 14 wins and 14 losses.

And if she gets to the finals, she is expected to meet either world number 2 Wang Ziyi (China) or world number 3 Akane Yamaguchi (Japan).

Of course, there is no opponent that Ahn Se-young, who has maintained the world’s No. 1 ranking for over 60 weeks, cannot beat.

However, as Chinese and Japanese players are ready to make an all-out effort to pass Ahn Se-young this year, Ahn Se-young has no choice but to play a tense game in every game.

Indonesia’s ‘Bolarop’, a badminton powerhouse, is also paying attention to whether Ahn Se-young will win. The media said, “Ahn Se-young is attempting to win the BWF tournament for the fifth time in a row,” and added, “It is expected that she will compete with Chinese and Japanese players in a row. Will Ahn Se-young be able to overcome this?”

Seyoung Ahn has a clear goal for this year. While aiming for the gold medal in the women’s singles at the World Championships in August and the Asian Games in September, she also dreams of winning the Super 1000 Slam (sweeping four tournaments), which she was unable to achieve after withdrawing from the China Open midway through last year’s injury. Beyond the feat of 2025, we are aiming to achieve a legend in 2026.