(Xports News Reporter Kim Hyun-ki) Ahn Se-young is finally on the rise.
As the Korean women’s badminton team moves toward winning its first ever Asian team championship, ‘Empress’ Ahn Se-young, the women’s singles ace and world number one, will appear.
Korea has already confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals, but it can easily advance to the semifinals only if it advances to the quarterfinals as first place in its group. To this end, Ahn Se-young, who missed the first game, finally takes the court.
The women’s national team will complete the third day of the 2026 Asian Men’s and Women’s Team Badminton Championships at the Kon Son Gymnasium in Qingdao, China at noon on the 5th (Korean time). In the final match of Group Z, the opponent is Chinese Taipei.
Korea and Taiwan have already secured tickets to the quarterfinals, which are awarded to first and second place in each group. Korea defeated Singapore 5-0 in the first match of Group Z on the 3rd. Taiwan also won 5-0 against Singapore on the 4th.
Among the three teams in Group Z, Singapore, which had already played all of its group matches, was eliminated after losing all two matches. Korea and Taiwan, who each won one game, will play a match to determine first place in their group on the 5th.
Although world-class badminton powers such as China, Japan, and Indonesia are said to have sent 1.5 teams to this tournament, it is still not nice to meet them in the quarterfinals. They must beat Chinese Taipei and secure first place in the group to face a relatively easy team in the quarterfinals.
In order to take first place in the group, Ahn Se-young, who recently won 30 consecutive games in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour and succeeded in winning 6 consecutive tournaments, will take the mound. Ahn Se-young missed the game against Singapore on the 3rd because the opponent was one level below. Korea won the women’s singles with Kim Ga-eun (17th), Park Ga-eun (70th), and Kim Min-ji (75th).
Taiwan is better than Singapore. It is difficult to exclude Ahn Se-young from this match, which will be played in three singles and two doubles.
Se-young Ahn will play in the first singles match between Korea and Taiwan. The opponent is Qiu Pin Qian, ranked 14th in the world, and is an opponent that cannot be taken lightly. Of course, since Ahn Se-young is on a three-game winning streak against all opponents, it seems like she can win if she uses her skills.
Afterwards, Korea entered the pair of Baek Ha-na and Kim Hye-jeong in the first doubles. In the past, the Korean women’s doubles team consisted of Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na (3rd place) and Kong Hee-yong and Kim Hye-jeong (5th place) forming a one-two punch, but this time, one person from each group came forward to create a new combination.
In the second singles, world number 17 Kim Ga-eun will clash with world number 20 Lin Xiangti. Because the rankings are similar, it is impossible to predict the winner hastily. It was decided that the pair of Lee Seo-jin and Lee Yeon-woo would participate in the 2nd singles, and that Park Ga-eun would participate in the 3rd singles. Her world ranking is 34th, tied with Seong Shuo-yoon, who is higher than Park Ga-eun.
In order for Korea to beat Taiwan, it is essential for Ahn Se-young and the 1st and 2nd doubles to win. In the 2nd and 3rd stages, Korea and Taiwan are either strong or behind.
Photo = Yonhap News
Reporter Kim Hyun-ki spitfire@xportsnews.com
