■ Commentator Ha Tae-kwon ‘Analysis of Ahn Se-young’s skills’
Smash speed noticeably improved
“It’s comparable to male athletes.”
‘Completed’ with steel stamina + power
I don’t think there will be any problem if the 15-point system is reformed.
Invincible. This is an expression that automatically comes to mind when looking at world number one Ahn Se-young (24, Samsung Life Insurance). That’s why Ahn Se-young’s performance is unrivaled. Chinese players who have dominated the world’s women’s singles competition also fall like reeds when they meet Ahn Se-young. Ahn Se-young is far ahead of China’s strongest player, World No. 2 Wang Ziyi, with 18 wins and 4 losses.
Ahn Se-young has solidified her perfect dominance in the world badminton women’s singles. Ahn Se-young reached the top of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 India Open, which ended on the 18th, winning two weeks in a row and six competitions in a row. The official game winning streak was increased to 30. Ahn Se-young’s last loss was in the final of the BWF World Tour Super 500 Suwon Victor Korea Open in September last year, four months ago.
2025 was Ahn Se-young’s year. He maintained the world’s No. 1 spot without ever giving up, and won the trophy at the BWF World Tour Finals, the last tournament last year, breaking the record for the most wins in a single season (11 wins), the highest winning percentage ever for a singles player (94.8%), and the highest accumulated prize money ever (USD 1,003,175, KRW 1.472 billion). Se-young Ahn also swept the All England Open, Malaysia Open, and Indonesia Open among the only four Super 1000s.
Ahn Se-young’s strength lies in her constant ‘skill upgrading’. Commentator Ha Tae-kwon, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics who is commentating most of Ahn Se-young’s matches, explained, “At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he won the gold medal with excellent defense, but his offensive perfection was poor. However, at this point, Ahn Se-young has high offensive perfection. After winning the Olympic gold medal, he has gained experience in big games and seems to have been equipped with a way to overcome crisis situations.”
◇ Faster speed that makes him look like a ‘male athlete’ to his opponents= The thing that has changed the most is speed. Commentator Ha explained, “Starting this year, the speed has changed significantly. Both the body movement and the speed of the smash have become faster. Even Wang Ziyi can’t chase it and is busy catching the shuttlecock. We adjusted the swing speed to make it difficult for Wang Ziyi.” He added, “The speed control was what stood out the most. Shaking the opponent with motion has existed before, but increasing the speed was new.”
This year, some players describe the match against Ahn Se-young as being like playing against a male player. This is because, thanks to the increased speed, the power of the half smash aimed forward using a wrist snap has become more powerful. Commentator Ha explained, “It’s because she has a speed comparable to that of male players. Until last year, she used the female players’ hitting technique to make elaborate swings, but now, thanks to her speed, the level has changed.” He also added, “With the fast swing speed, it became possible to accurately target empty spaces low and fast like male players.”
◇15 points system? No problem= BWF is pushing to change from a 21-point system per game to a 15-point system. There are voices questioning whether the reform of the point system is intended to stop Ahn Se-young’s solo system. This is because Ahn Se-young, whose strength is steel, mainly played defensive games before. Ahn Se-young has a style that induces mistakes by persistently blocking the opponent’s attacks by throwing her whole body on the mat and receiving a shuttlecock, etc., but if the 15-point system is used, Ahn Se-young’s strengths will inevitably be buried.
Commentator Ha also thought last year, ‘The point system reform is disadvantageous to Ahn Se-young.’ But this year, my thoughts changed. He said, “I thought it would be disadvantageous because the opposing players, who are less physically burdened, would use more speed in their attacks. However, I think it would be more advantageous if Ahn Se-young continues to play like she did in the two competitions this year. Because she has more stamina, she can attack at a faster speed than now.”
◇There are no rivals to keep in check= Ahn Se-young’s stronghold does not seem to be shaken for a while. This is because there is no player who can take down Ahn Se-young. In addition, Ahn Se-young’s constant efforts solidify the solo system. Ahn Se-young ranked first in the world and won an Olympic gold medal solely on defense, but he ran tirelessly to make up for his shortcomings in attack, and was reborn as a master of offense and defense. Previously, he was unable to lead with passive play, but now he dominates the game with active play.
Commentator Ha explained, “There is no player who can harass Ahn Se-young, let alone threaten her. Even if Akane Yamaguchi (3rd place, Japan) and Chen Yu-fei (4th place, China) were at their peak, they would only lose about once out of five times. But they are on the decline.” Yamaguchi is 29 years old, and Chen Yufei is 28 years old and will soon enter their 30s. He also emphasized, “If Ahn Se-young begins to control his speed more freely, it will not be easy for anyone to beat Ahn Se-young.”
◇Variable is injury= This year is an important year for Ahn Se-young. In August, she is aiming to regain the top spot at the World Championships, and in September, she is aiming to become the first woman to win two consecutive titles in women’s singles at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Since there are no problems with athletic performance, managing physical condition is emerging as a key point. Commentator Ha advised, “It seems like Ahn Se-young pursues perfection, but if she plays too hard than what she did during training, she may get injured.”
Ahn Se-young, who returned to Korea on the 19th, said, “I am always worried about injuries,” and expressed her determination, “This year, my goal is to finish all games well without withdrawing.” He also explained, “After the World Tour Finals, I came out without properly recovering, so my left leg was strained. The more I played, the more I felt it was recovering. This time, I was able to learn a lot about how to make plays by adjusting the tempo of the game to suit my physical condition.”
Reporter Heo Jong-ho
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