He is ranked 19th in the world and reached the quarterfinals in a tournament where all top ranked players gathered.
Korean badminton is having a blast at the first international competition of the new year. While Ahn Se-young, the world’s No. 1 women’s singles player, won two consecutive wins and easily advanced to the quarterfinals, the women’s doubles pair of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-woo Lee also achieved a comfortable victory in the match held soon after and secured a ticket to the quarterfinals.
The women’s doubles pair of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-woo Lee, ranked 19th in the world, advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating the pair of Ornita Jongtapornparn and Sukita Suwachai (ranked 47th in the world) with a game score of 2-0 (21-14 21-13) in the round of 16 of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Malaysia Open held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 8th (Korean time).
In badminton, women’s doubles is also the longest match due to the large number of rallies. The team of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-woo Lee showed off their superior skills and won in 44 minutes.
Since the Jongjathapornparn-Suwachai group defeated the 8th seeded Hong Kong group in the first round and advanced to the round of 16, the team of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-woo Lee could not help but be nervous, but they were not much of an opponent on the court.
It’s truly a fast sprint. The pair of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-woo Lee laughed out loud in the first round of this competition. This is because they defeated the team of Chiharu Shida and Arisa Igarashi (Japan), who won the All Japan Championships at the end of last year, with a game score of 2-0 and won in the first round. Shida won a bronze medal in women’s doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Igarashi won a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the same event. They formed a women’s doubles combination in September of last year and are rapidly improving their skills.
Because the group was formed not long ago, the world ranking was low at 23rd place, but the team of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-woo Lee completely defeated the team of Shida and Igarashi, who were working together by winning a gold medal at the All Japan Championships, in the first match.
They then easily won the round of 16 and emerged as a strong dark horse in this tournament.
There is a high possibility that the Korean players in the group of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-woo Lee will have a domestic fight among themselves in the quarterfinals. This is because if the third seed group of this tournament, Kim Hye-jung and Kong Hee-yong, defeat the group of Osawa Kao and Mai Taname (Japan), they will advance to the quarterfinals and compete for a ticket to the semifinals with the group of Na-eun Jeong and Yeon-ju Lee. Considering Kim Hye-seong and Kong Hee-yong’s strength, it is reasonable to predict victory.
In the Korean women’s doubles team, Sohee Lee and Hana Baek, who won the BWF World Tour Finals at the end of last year, are also preparing for the round of 16, raising the possibility that three groups will advance to the quarterfinals.
Photo = Korean Badminton Association SNS
Keep reading
